Emma Potter and the Fallen Shadows
by wizards.and.weirdos
Summary: As Emma Potter enters her second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, everything is different. Between mysterious new girls, missing Godfathers, evil friends, annoying brothers, and two worlds, Emma has her work cut out for her. Rated T for violence, but I may be paranoid. Credit to Cover Artist. BOOK TWO OF THE EMMA POTTER SERIES. PLEASE READ BOOK ONE FIRST!
1. Games Gone Wrong

**A/N Here we go! Book two. Thanks for all of the reviews on my last story requesting this one. I really hope you guys like it. This story will follow Emma's second year at Hogwarts. If you haven't already, I would strongly suggest reading book one called Emma Potter and the New Beginning. Now get ready to read book two!**

 **Disclaimer- All rights to settings, characters, and basically every part of this story goes to J.K Rowling and Rick Riordan. I only claim rights to the characters I made and to the parts of the story I created.**

 **Chapter one- Games Gone Wrong**

I opened my eyes to look up at the largest statue of Zeus I had ever seen. I kid you not, it was about 70 feet tall and looked as if it were staring down at me and judging me. It very well could be. There is a lot to judge.

It had been two months since I had gotten back from Hogwarts, and as August dawned on camp, there was a restless energy flowing around. The news that Kyle had betrayed camp spread like wildfire and everyone wanted to do something. But the gods had deemed the case of Ouranos' rising closed, and Chiron agreed. No one was allowed on a quest to find Kyle, and it caused the entire camp to talk in whispers about what happened in the chamber. No one really knew the whole story, other than me. No one else was there.

Addy, my owl, swooped in through an open window, jarring me out of my thoughts. Yesterday, July 31st, was Harry's birthday and I had sent Addy out with a present and letter with updates from camp. That had become our norm. I would give him updates and he would tell me about what was going on in London. I pulled the letter off of Addy's leg and opened it, trying to make out Harry's sloppy quill work.

 _Emma-_

 _Thanks for the present! I have no idea where you manage to find a endless trunk, but it's going to make packing so much easier_ (I managed to convince one of the Hephaestus kids to modify a trunk I had gotten to make it bigger on the inside) _. Things are… not that enjoyable right now. I just learned that my Aunt Marge is coming today. She's probably worse than Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. I'm going to have to try to keep my temper in check. You know how good I am at that._

 _Anyway, how are things at camp? Has Chiron sent any one out yet? How's your arm? Write back soon, OK? I miss you. Let me know when you're coming to London so I can meet up with you!_

 _Love,_

 _Harry_

I folded the letter and put it with the other ones in a small alcove close to where my sleeping bag was set up. The worst thing about the Zeus cabin is that no one has lived here in centuries so there were no bunks. That means that I have been sleeping in a sleeping bag for the last two months. The alcove also held my wand, sword, and birthday cards from June. My birthday also happened to be the Summer Solstice and 10 days after school ended. I got presents from all my friends in london, including a Nimbus 2002, the newest model, with a note explaining that Katie Bell had moved to France and would be now attending Beauxbatons and he expected me to try out for the team. As much as I loved Katie, I was so happy that I get to try out for the team that I didn't mind.

Ginny gave me a teddy bear with a note saying to decorate my cabin a bit. I did just that, taking some money out of my gringotts account that held a small fortune, and buying some decorations, including a new rug, dressers, twinkle lights, a desk to keep my summer work on, and multiple bookshelfs to keep my dozens of books on, both wizarding and non. Over the course of last year, I had managed to collect more wizarding books then I thought existed, including about 20 on ancient runes. I think that's the thing I most excited about for this coming up school year. I would be able to take third year runes as a second year. I had a bed coming, but it got back ordered and won't come until sometime this week. Thanks to the magic shop I bought it from, it would just appear at my room.

Hermione gave me ten different books she said she read while in France about history of magic there (she knows my favorite subject is History) that she loved. Ron got me some candy, with a note saying that I had to come visit soon because Ginny wouldn't stop complaining about how she hasn't gotten to see her friends. Astoria got me a dozen books that she found in the Greengrass library that she said hadn't been read in centuries and wouldn't be missed.

I missed my friends a lot, but I kept telling myself that I would see them soon. After spending a year with them, leaving felt so wrong. Especially when I had to say goodbye to Harry at King's Cross and leave him with those awful people he had to call his family.

I put back the letters and cards that had fallen out of the alcove and tidied my "room", putting books back and making my sleeping bag. I was thinking about adding in a giant chair to sit on while I read, but I have to keep reminding myself that I'm leaving in a month. Even better, i got a letter from Ginny saying that in three weeks they were going to Diagon Alley and asked if I would join. Chiron agreed, so that made the time until I get to see them even shorter.

I looked at my watch, and realized that breakfast had already started. So I grabbed my sword off of my night table, strapped my daggers onto my ankles and forearms, swung my bag over my shoulder, and put my sword in it's holster made by the Hephaestus cabin. The sword in question is the Sword of Gryffindor that used to hang in Dumbledore's office, but which he gave to me in replace of my sword given by Kyle.

I made my way to the dining pavilion, waving to my friends that I passed along the way. The mood was high because it was Friday which means that it's capture the flag day. So far, the teams went as followed.

Blue team (lead by Lizzy and I)-Zeus, Hecate, Athena, Ares, and Apollo.

Red team (lead by Caroline from the Hephaestus cabin and Lily from the Aphrodite cabin)- Hermes, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Demeter, and Dionysus.

We had good chances, what with Athena and Ares both on our team, but the Hermes cabin had at least double the other cabins. Apollo normally sided with the red team, but after offering them the first shower spot, they decided to come with us. Normally as the smallest cabin, I get first shower and share it with Lizzy, but we gave it up for second shower time in order to get Apollo's cabin because they were the best shot at camp which is good because we need a good defense.

I made it to the dining pavilion and sat at my empty table, smiling at Lizzy from across the room. Lizzy had grown significantly over the summer and is now about a foot taller than my five foot. She also turned 14 and started to wear more makeup (which I tease her for mercilessly). It's funny, because the two of us have most activities together since we used to be in the same cabin, but when you see us walking around together, we look like polar opposite. Her extremely tan skin sets off her bleach blond hair and her blue eyes. Plus she's so tall. Then you have tiny me, not even having hit puberty yet, with my extremely pale/sunburned skin and red hair against my gray blue eyes. It's kind of funny.

Chiron stood up and the pavilion fell silent. "Attention campers! Just a reminder that tonight we will have a capture the flag game. Same rules as always apply. Make your final allys tonight and captains, please give in the list of your teams by dinner. Activities start in twenty minutes, so get ready." With that, Chiron sat down. Talking resumed, but unfortunately there was no one for me to talk to. Instead I pulled out a piece of parchment and my silver gel pen and started a letter to Harry.

 _Harry-_

 _Things at camp are normal. Chiron still won't talk about the threats that are going on and so we just go on with everyday activities of learning how to use a sword and how to kill monsters. Then again, wizard life isn't that normal either. My arms fine, still slightly sore but I don't need bandages anymore. You worry too much. I'm fine, promise. I finally had time to take the broom out on wednesday for the first time since you got it for me. Thanks again for that! It really is a great broom. But did you hear about the new firebolt? Apparently they're like, the best brooms out there. Come one Harry, you're slacking with the presents. Anyway, it sucks that your aunt is coming. But please please please try to keep your temper. I don't want to have to go to privet drive to pick up exploded Harry. But if something does happen, call me and I'll come right away, ok? Stay safe and try not to need me._

 _Love,_

 _Emma_

I put the letter into my bag, vowing to send it out with Addy later. I grabbed my bag again when I saw everyone else get up and went to ancient greek with Lizzy.

I went through lesson after lesson learning how to speak greek, greek mythology, sword skills, etc. It all seemed kind of pointless especially when there's something way more important out there. It also probably has something to do with the fact that i've been doing the same thing for the past 7 years.

"You alright?" Lizzy asked as I brought up my sword to parry hers.

"Yeah," I replied half heartedly.

"Are you thinking about Kyle again?" Lizzy asked. She knew about everything that went on in the chamber.

"Not exactly," I replied. "More about the fact that this all seems useless."

"You think learning all this is useless?" Lizzy asked, turning to hit me in the side with the flat of her sword but I rolled under it.

"Well, I mean, more the whole practicing over and over the same things that I've been doing since I was five." I hit her wrist, trying to knock her sword out of her hand, but she threw her sword up, moved her hand, and then caught it again.

"Well practice makes perfect," Lizzy replied.

"I guess, but there's only so much practicing you can do before you need hands on experience to learn anything more," I argued.

"Well you have more hands on than any of us," Lizzy said, mentioning the fact that I had to kill two different monsters in a supposedly "safe" school.

"True," I replied. "I'm also missing it, I guess."

"What, the fighting for your life?" Lizzy smirked as she hit me in the side with the back of her sword. I jumped back, but not soon enough. I could feel the bruise already forming.

"No, the school," I said.

"I think you're the only person that misses school," Lizzy replied. I laughed, spun around her, and hit her sword out of her hand.

"True," I said, picking up her sword and passing it to her, "But then again, most people don't just see their friends and brother at school."

"Ok, fair enough," Lizzy said. "But it's only like a couple of weeks until we go to diagon alley."

That made me stop. "Wait, you're coming?" Lizzy smiled and nodded and I felt my face crack into a wide grin. "I thought you said you couldn't make it?!"

"When have you ever known me to give up a shopping spree?" Lizzy smiled. It almost made me feel like a normal girl again, going shopping with her friends. But then I remember I was going shopping for wizarding supplies while heavily armed with weapons. So maybe not so normal. But hey, normal is boring.

Lizzy and I spared for another half hour before running to get showers before going to dinner.

Dinner was buzzing with excitement while every team made plans for the game tonight. Instead of sitting at our normal tables, our entire team crowded at my table and ate dinner there.

"So what's the plan?" Kate asked. She was wearing gray to represent the Athena cabin. "Because I've come up with something.

"Of course you have," Michael said. His blood red shirt he was wearing to represent Ares had a sword on it that was dripping blood itself. Typical Ares.

"I was thinking," I said before world war III started, "that we could have Lizzy on defense," Lizzy smiled at that because she hated upfront work and prefered to keep up magical shields around her, "with the rest of her cabin. They can put up shields and cast spells and illusions. Athena cabin half on offense half on defense, the half on defense should be planning on backups just in case." The Athena cabin started to argue who got to be on defense and who was on offense. "Apollo defense, sharp shooters," the Apollo cabin looked happy about that. "I want you guys in trees, behind rocks, etc. Ares offense," the biggest part of our team grinned evilly. "I'll go over head and keep aerial patrol, using a mix of magic and sword. Hannah and Tom," I looked towards the two Apollo campers, "I want you two on flag duty. Anything to add?" I asked Lizzy.

"Just make sure that you stay on your spot, stay alert, and try to play fair. Sure, I want to win, but not if it means playing dirty. Just try your best."

"Ok campers!" Chiron called. "Get ready. Blue team, lead by Lizzy and Emma, will be on the far side of the creek. Caroline and Lily will be heading the red team and will be on the near side. Rules are as followed. Every camper who is not injured must play. That is all of you. The creek is the boundary line. If you cross to the opposite side that isn't your teams you can get disarmed and will be taken as prisoner. The entire forest is fair game, but you must stay in the forest. All magic items are allowed. You must be able to see the flag at all times and the flag can have no more than two guards around it. Prisoners can be disarmed but not bound or gagged. Killing and maiming is not allowed. Guards are not allowed to stand within ten yards of the flag. Breaking any of these rules will be punished with no dessert for a week. Any questions?" Nobody said anything. "Ok, campers to your position."

"Blue team!" Lizzy cried. "Let's go!" We all cheered and ran towards our position. Everyone took their position, and I got ready to take to the air.

"Campers, on your marks," Chiron cried. "And go!" I took off and started to fly through the air. Flying had gotten easier since last year when I used it to get out of the chamber. Everyday practice was very useful indeed. I flew overhead, looking below at the field. I had put my hair into a messy bun before we started, something I learned to do after having a crash landing while trying to fly with a ponytail in. Wind was so strong up here that it was easy to get hair in your face.

I tried to find the flag, and finally spotted it in one of the ditches close to where camp was. It was surrounded by 2 Hephaestus kids who had different Automatons around it. In Front of them, two Dionysus kids were prowling around with the rest of the Hephaestus kids. I saw Sam, the head of the Athena cabin, slinking through a couple of trees. I flew down and landed next to her, causing her to jump a bit.

"Gods Emma, you have to stop doing that," she whispered at me.

I chuckled softly and said, "I found the flag. You wanna go get it?"

"Is that even a question?" Sam asked, laughing. I told her to turn and I grabbed her, flying up. We soared overhead, before dropping on top of the flag. Immediately people swarmed us. I pulled out my sword and Sam did the same. I put up a shield of solid air, but a few people got through.

"I got them," Sam said. "Get the flag." I nodded and did just that, going for the flag, but it disappeared. I stopped, looking at the spot where the flag was two seconds ago. "What's taking you so long?" Sam asked, turning to the next person.

"The flag disappeared," I replied, stunned. This caused almost all of the campers to stop and looked.

"Where'd it go?" I heard one kid ask.

"Who took it?" Another asked. More and more kids started to come over and look. Even Chiron came over, looking as confused as the rest of us.

"Who took the flag?" Chiron asked. No one stepped forward. "Ok, I guess the game is done."  
"Who won?" shouted an Ares camper.

"No one," Chiron said. People grumbled but started to walk away. But then the ground started to shake. Not quite like an earthquake, more like splitting.

And that's just what the earth did. A small crack appeared in the earth and out popped… a girl.

She was short, with jet black hair and gray eyes. Her skin was even paler than mine. She was wearing normal mortal clothes, jeans and a t-shirt. But she had a British accent, or at least that's what it sounded like when she said, "That's weird. I'm supposed to be dead." Then she slumped forward. 

**A/N Oooooh. Who's the new girl? You'll figure out more about her next chapter. She'll play a really big roll in this story. I really hoped you guys liked this! Expect updates every or every other Sunday. Hope you guys liked it!**


	2. A Story to Remember

**A/N onto chapter 2! Thanks for all of the follows and reviews for this story that I got this past week. Thanks to them, I managed to write 3 more chapters. I'm going to a review from a guest that needed explanations from me. They asked about the Hecate cabin and were wondering if it should exist.** **This isn't following cannon for the PJO books, only for the HP books. So in order to help the story along, I made a Hecate cabin. Sorry for any confusion that it may have caused. I really hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 2- A Story to Remember**

Me being the closest caught her, and Sam helped me lay her down. Campers started to crowd, but Chiron broke through.

"Everyone back to camp!" He called. "Now please." People grumbled again, but did start to walk away. I stood up with Sam and Lizzy who had made her way to the front also. "Actually, can the three of you help me take her to the infirmary?" Chiron asked.

"Sure," Sam said.

"What did she mean 'I'm supposed to be dead'?" I asked. Chiron shook his head.

"I'm not sure."

"And she's british," I said.

"We don't know that for certain," Sam said. "She only said, like, seven words."

"I lived for almost an entire year in britain," I replied. "I know a british accent when I hear one."

I grabbed one of the girl's arms and slung it around my neck and Lizzy did the same with the other arm. Together we lifted the limp girl up. She was, not surprisingly since she was so short, light. Sam walked behind us, ready to catch the girl if she fell.

We walked back to camp and brought her to the infirmary where we laid her on a bed.

"How did she break the ground?" Lizzy asked.

"You don't think she's a daughter of Hades, do you?" Sam asked Chiron who shrugged.

"I don't want to hypothesis anything," Chiron replied, "But you never know. Why don't you girls go back to your cabins."

Sam left first, after saying goodnight, and Lizzy followed after. I hesitated, looking at the girl on the bed.  
"She'll be fine, Emma," Chiron said. "I'll let you know if anything changes with her well being." I nodded but hesitated for a second more.

"If she is a daughter of Hades," I said, quietly, "why would she have said she should be dead?"

"I don't know," Chiron replied. "But you need to get some rest." Chiron turned me around and pushed me out of the room and into the hall before shutting the door. I sighed and went back to my cabin, to find my bed had come. Surprisingly, I wasn't as excited as I thought I would be. It was still comfortable though and I happily fell asleep on a bed for the first time since school.

The rest of the weekend passed in mostly the same way as every other day at camp. The only difference is now we had a random girl passed out in one of the beds in the infirmary. True to his word, Chiron kept Lizzy, Sam and I updated on her status, but these updates mostly consisted of, "She's still asleep." The first major change was Sunday during breakfast when a letter came for me.

I had just woken up and was changing when an owl flew in through my open window. Except it wasn't Addy or Hedwig. Phire started to meow at it from my bed, but the owl ignored her and landed on my desk and stuck out its leg, which had a letter with the hogwarts seal on it. Confused, I took the letter and the owl flew off again, leaving Phire meowing after it.

I opened the letter and took out the folded piece of parchment.

 _Dear Ms. Potter-_

 _I hope you are having a good break. Hogwarts has just received notice of a wizard on your grounds by the name of Callie Hunter. Please confirm or deny this as soon as possible._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress._

 _Wizard?_ I thought. _She's a wizard?_ I got up, and went to the door, intent on talking to Chiron when there was a knock. I opened it and saw Lizzy on the doorstep.

"She's up," was all she said before the two of us took off across the grounds. We went into the big house and up to the room that the girl was asleep in. I pushed the door open and saw the dark haired girl sitting up in bed looking extremely annoyed.

"Why am I in a random bed?" was the first thing out of her mouth.

"Um, hi," Lizzy said.

"Where am I?" the girl asked again.

"New York," I replied, sitting in one of the chairs.

"Why am I in New York?" she asked.

"Where do you expect to be?" I replied.

"London," she said. "You know, where I live."

"How old are you?" Lizzy asked.

"Twelve, I think," the girl replied. "But why does that matter."

"Just wondering. I'm Lizzy by the way."

"Callie," the girl replied.

"Emma," I said. "Hey Lizzy, can I see you in the hall?"

Lizzy looked confused and Callie rolled her eyes, saying "Sure, don't answer my questions. That's fine by me."

I took Lizzy by the hand and pulled her out into the hall, then passed her the letter. She read it, and her eyes widened. "I'm going to bring this to Chiron. You may want to explain some things to her." I nodded, and went back into the room, finding Callie walking around the room, trying to find something to keep her occupied.

"Can't keep still?" I asked.

"ADHD," she replied.

"Same," I said. Callie looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah," I said. "And slight dyslexia. Not to bad."

"Same," Callie said.

"Yeah. It's kind of a thing here," I replied.

"Where am I, anyway. Like a special people school?"

"Not quite," I replied. "Do you remember what you said when you woke up?"

"No," she replied. "All I remember is waking up here."

"Well, it went something like 'I'm supposed to be dead'." Callie turned slightly red. "Now why would you say something like that?"

"Why would I know?"

"Well you said it. And you turned red right now meaning you know something."

"Or that it was a random thing I said and now I'm embarrassed."

"True," I said. "It could be that, but I've heard weirder. Now why would you say that?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me," I said. "I've been through alot in this past year."

"Fine," Callie said. "But if I tell you, you have to tell me what went on in your life."

"Fine," I said. "But you first."

"Fine. Well like I told you, I live in London. Or lived. I don't know. It's kind of weird. I decided to leave my home when I was about to turn ten, deciding I didn't want to live there, and I learned to live on my own. So life was all good and stuff until like the summer when I think I… died. I'm not sure how to explain it. I was riding my bike and then I had to cross a street. Which I did, but then…. I got hit by a car. And then everything went black. I'm not really sure. It was weird. It went from black to kind of like, dreary. It was like one endless field with like, trees everywhere. And old people. I can't really explain it. It was weird. And I kind of went 'I think I'm dead'. And it kind of lasted like that for a bit. And then I woke up standing in a field with like a lot of teens around me, said something about being dead, and passed out again. So yeah," she finished, sitting on the bed and looking at me. "You're turn."

"Wait, so you were dead?" I asked.

"Were you listening?" Callie asked.

"Well yeah, but it's hard to wrap your mind around."

"I told you you wouldn't believe me."

"Oh trust me," I replied, "I believe you. You're talking to the queen of weird."

"Speaking of which," Callie said," I want to hear your story."

"Alright," I responded. "So let's start when I was five. I lived in a orphanage because my parents had died when I was born, and, to put it plainly, my orphanage sucked. The only thing they cared about was getting us adopted. And being a small, cute five year old, they tried hard with me. I pretty much got put into dresses and told to act nice so people would adopt me. And from a young age, I decided this was stupid and acted as awful as I could just to spite my foster parents and or whoever was running the orphanage. And one night, I just got tired of it, so being stubborn five year old me, I decided to run away. Not my smartest idea. Five year old me was left on the streets with no idea what I was doing, and because I was an orphan, no one really cared that I left. And then the monsters started. Yes," I said at her face, "Monsters."

"Oh I believe you," Callie said. "But monsters are something I can relate to. I may have run into a few things that looked like either giant hounds, evil, green women, or other creepy things. I've gotten to be a great runner."

"Well that makes sense," I replied.

"Why?" She asked. "Or are you not going to tell me."

"Let's finish my story. So monsters. Five year old me had to fight monsters. Or run, but I sucked at running. So I fought. Unfortunately, the only weapon I had was an old pair of heels I was wearing when i ran away. So I used those. I spent like two months running from monsters and trying to stay alive. But then I was found by a boy named Kyle. He talked me down from trying to kill him and brought me to here."

"And what is here?" Callie asked.

"A camp," I replied. "Of sorts. Have you heard any greek myths?"

"Do they even teach those in foster homes?" Callie asked,

"Are you a foster child?" I responded.

"Yeah," she replied. "Did I forget to add that to my story?"

"Yeah you did," I responded, rolling my eyes.

"Well I know the basis. Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, sky, ocean, dead, and all that nonsense."

"Yeah, that nonsense is less nonsense and more… real," I replied.

"Really?" she asked. I nodded and Callie started to laugh. "Ok seriously, where am I?"

"You died and came back but don't believe _me_?" I asked.

"Ok, fair enough. Go on."

"Ok. So I came to camp, and started training."

"Training?" she asked.

"To kill monsters. Now will you let me finish my story? Thank you. Now where was I."

"Kyle?" Callie said.

"What about him," I asked, my expression turning sour.

"You we're talking about him," Callie replied.

"Oh right," I said. "Sorry. So camp. I was told about all of the greek gods and how they were real. Have you heard of Hercules?" Callie nodded.

"He's a son of Zeus. What was it… a demigod?"  
"Exactly. So demigods are real. I'm one, and your one."

"No i'm not," Callie said immediately.

"Yeah, you are. You wouldn't be allowed in camp if you weren't."

"Fine then, who's my parent?"

"I don't know."

"Whos your parent?"

"Zeus," I replied.

Her eyes widened. "Isn't that the King of the Gods?"

"Yeah," I responded.

"Does that make you.. Like a princess?"

"Ewww no!" I said. "That's not quite how we do it here. But back to my story. So when I got here, I wasn't told I was a daughter of Zeus. Being a child of the big three is kind of a big deal, so Chiron, he's the centaur, decided not to mention it. Instead, I was claimed by Hecate, goddess of magic and the mist."

"How does that work?" Callie asked. "The claiming thing I mean."

"Well, normally your godly parent will send a sign saying that your their child."

"Normally?"

"Well sometimes it takes longer than others to be claimed," I explained.

"How did you get claimed by the wrong person?"

"Not quite the wrong person," I replied. "I _am_ blessed by Hecate, meaning I have magic. But that will come up later in the story. Anyway, I settled in as the only known daughter of Hecate. No one really knows why I was the only one claimed by her, but that was that. Until the age of eight, I just had lessons with the Hermes cabin. About two months after I turned 8, Lizzy showed up and was also claimed by Hecate. So then there was the two of us. We had lessons together, ate meals together, lived together, etc. She kind of became like an older sister to me. Then, when I was still 10, a couple of days before my birthday, I got a letter from a school called Hogwarts."

Callie snorted. "They named a school after pig pimples?"

"Yeah, I'm not quite sure why," I responded. "But I opened the letter and learned that Hogwarts is a school for wizards and witches."

"Wait, now you're telling me there are wizards along with god's?" Callie asked. I gave her a look. "Right, came back from the dead. Continue."

"So that happened. I went to London, where the school was located," Callie perked up when I mentioned her home, "and there I went shopping for wizard stuff. I also learned that I'm kind of famous in the wizard world. See, me and my brother were the downfall of this dark wizard named Voldemort, and it was kind of a big deal."

"Wait, you never mentioned a brother," Callie said.

"That's because I didn't meet him until I went to Hogwarts."

"What's his name?" Callie asked.

"Harry."

"Harry…"

"Potter," I replied. "Harry Potter."

"And Emma Potter."

"Yes, now can I finish? My story's almost done. Ok. So I went to Hogwarts and learned all this cool magic stuff, but then people started getting petrified." At Callie's confused look, I explained, "It's almost like putting people into a coma. So my friend Ginny, her brother Ron, Harry, my friend Astoria, Harry's friend Hermione, and I tried to figure out what was happening. The Astoria and Hermione got petrified which left me, Ginny, Harry, and Ron. We ended up figuring out what was happening. But before we could do anything, Ginny was kidnapped by the monster. We found that Voldemort, or young Voldemort, was behind it. So Ron, Harry, and I went into the chamber where he was, but Ron was separated. Then there was two. Harry and I fought Voldemort, a giant snake, and also a boy named Kyle."

"Wait, didn't a Kyle take you to camp?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Turns out he betrayed us demigods and is now working to bring back the titan of the sky, Ouranos. Bad things. What a great time to show up, Callie. Anyway, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and I all survived, Astoria, Hermione, and all those petrified were brought back, and I got all hundreds on my exams. Everything was great. But then you showed up and kind of threw a wrench in things."

"Why am I so important?" Callie asked, actually taking all of this pretty well.

"Well, first off, when someone pops out of the ground and claims to be dead, it's kind of an off putter. Then I got this letter." I passed her the letter I had gotten this morning.

"Wait, so I'm a demigod… and a wizard?" Callie asked, eyes wide.

"I guess," I replied. "I'm not positive, but normally McGonagall's right about most stuff."

"But I thought you said you started this school when you were eleven. Why am i just learning about this at twelve?"  
"Maybe because you were on the run?" I said, after thinking back to her story.

"So, i'm a wizard?" Callie asked.

"Weird, right?" I asked.

"Just… hard to wrap my hand around."

"Fair enough," I supplied. "I got this news one at a time instead of two at a time."

Callie paused and then said, "Why do you think I came back from the dead?"

"Well, I have a theory," I responded. I hesitated, but Callie glared at me so I said, "I think you're a child of Hades." I said fast.

"Wait, like the king of the dead?"  
"Well it would make sense. You're obviously a demigod, and you came back from the dead. I could be wrong but…" I trailed off when a helmet appeared over her head. It was all black.

"The helm of darkness," Lizzy said in awe when she entered with Chiron.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Callie asked.

"Um, you know how I told you about claiming?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?" Callie said, slightly annoyed.

"Well you've been claimed."

"By who?" Callie asked, a mix between excitement and scared pouring out of her.

"Hades," I replied.

"Didn't you say…" Callie started.

"Yes," I replied.

"It's official," Chiron said, coming all the way into the room. "Emma, did you explain everything to Callie here?"  
"Yes," I replied.

"Even about wizards?" Lizzy asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Well then, Emma, why don't you take Callie on the tour. Lizzy, you can go to activities," Chiron said.

"But-" Lizzy started, but Chiron gave her a look, so she left, grumbling the entire way.

I brought Callie out of the big house and onto the grounds.

"Wow," was all Callie said, when we walked into the blinding sun. I put on my sunglasses and gave Callie a pair also. Then we started. I showed her the volleyball courts first, waving to Ally, Grace, Tim, and Hannah who were playing 2v2. They waved back, but had questioning glances towards Callie who turned slightly red. From there, we passed the art's and crafts building, the amphitheater, and the climbing wall, that Callie asked, "Is that lava?" when we passed. Then we crossed the river, went the the stables, armory (where I promised that we would get her a sword later), arena, mess hall, before finally coming to the cabins. There weren't cabins for all the gods, only the 12 olympians and a cabin for any minor gods that had children. Now, there was a cabin that was low to the ground and made of black onyx on the right of the Hera cabin, across from the Poseidon cabin. Hades.

"This is the Hecate cabin," I said pointing towards the first cabin, "then you have Dionysus, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Ares, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera, Zeus, and finally, Hades." I pointed towards the black cabin that we know stood in front of.

"This is… mine?" Callie asked. I nodded and she stepped forward and pushed open the door. Inside there was a bunk bed with blood red sheets and pillows on both beds. There was also a desk in the corner and a dresser as well as a red rug. "I don't have any, like, clothes to wear," Callie said, looking down at her tattered blue t-shirt and jean shorts.

"You look about my size," I replied. "Let's go to my cabin. I'll grab you something." She nodded, still slightly awestruck at her cabin. I brought her over to the Zeus cabin, where I opened the door and motioned for her to sit on my bed while I went to the dresser.

"It seems more… homey than I thought a cabin for Zeus would be.

"Yeah well this is one of the original cabins, but no one lived in it before me, so there was no furniture. So I took it upon myself to decorate."

"Couldn't get rid of the giant statue?" Callie asked, looking up at the giant statue of my father.

"I wish I could," I replied, pulling out a camp t-shirt and pair of jean shorts and passing them to her. "You can use the bathroom, then we'll go to the camp shop and get you toiletries and some other clothes." Callie nodded and went into the bathroom to change. When she came back, her black hair was thrown into a ponytail and her shirt was tucked into her shorts. "Too big?" I asked.

"A bit," Callie replied. "So what does being a daughter of a god mean?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, what's so special about us?"  
"First, we attract monsters," I said. "But you knew that. Also, we can't use technology without attacking monsters."

"That sucks," Callie said.

"Well I have a phone that I used a spell to alter. We can probably do the same for you since you're a wizard. Also, we have powers."

"You say that like it's no big deal," Callie replied. "What kind of powers do you have?"

"Well, I can fly," I started.

"Cool!" Callie said, her eyes wide. "What else?"  
"I can electrocute people. Also make giant storms, manipulate the air, and I have enhanced strength," I said.

"What can I do?" Callie asked.

"That depends," I reply. "It's really something that you have to figure out for yourself. Probably shadow travel, which means moving from one place to another by just using the shadows, summon the dead, and maybe be able to summon and talk to ghosts. Also, magic obviously, but that comes with being a wizard."

"That's so… cool," Callie said. Her eyes were still wide, and I realized it was probably too much for her to take in right now.

"Why don't we go get you some clothes," I said, grabbing my purse with some money off of my night table and picking up my sword, strapping it to my belt. But before we could leave, hedwig swooped in through the window.

"Is that an owl?" Callie asked, surprised.

"Yeah," I said. "It's actually my brothers." Hedwig landed on my desk and stuck out her leg. I untied the letter on it and opened it.

 _Emma-_

 _So small problem. You know that part where you told me_ not _to lose my temper? Yeah, I kind of didn't do that. To cut this short, I may have turned my aunt into a balloon. But before you start yelling at me (or writing me a letter in all caps. Is that how you show your anger in letter form?) no one was hurt. There was a thing with the Minister of Magic, but it's all fine. I did learn that there is a mass murder who escaped from Azkaban that killed mum and dad. Long story. But right now, I'm at the Leaky. If you want to come up early to London, meet me?_

 _Love you-_

 _Harry_

"He's such and idiot," I said, and Callie laughed.

"I love watching siblings. What did he do?" she asked.

"He blew up his aunt!"

"Wait, his aunt? Not your aunt?"

"Well technically we're not brother and sister. More like cousins. But his family adopted me, so we don't talk about that. Anyway, you want to go to London?" I asked, already starting to throw clothes into my trunk.

"Wait, now?" Callie asked.

"When else? Of course, we'll have to get you a sword and some necessities first, but then we have to get up there. You don't have to come to Hogwarts, but it's fun."

"Why wouldn't I go to a school for wizards?"

 **A/N Back to the Wizarding World we go! As much as I love the PJO books, I enjoy writing in the HP book line so much more. I really hope you guys liked the chapter. Please review with any questions or encouragement! It really helps. Also check out my two other new stories, So Goes the Game and United We Rise. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Summer Days Slipping Away

**A/N _Guysssssss_. I didn't get like any reviews on the last chapter. This story has only two reviews. Not that I don't appreciate the ones I have but without reviews it's hard to find the inspiration to write. Even just like two word reviews are appreciate and give me the motivation to keep writing.**

 **Wow I sound so needy. But seriously guys, it does help. Sorry for the little excursion. Now back to the thing you're all here for- the story.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy!  
**

 _ **Recap- A new girl shows up named Callie. It turns out that she was actually dead and came back to life via Hades. Emma gets a letter saying that Callie is also a wizard as well as a daughter of Hades. Harry gets in trouble and Callie and Emma decide to go to London early.**_

 **Chapter 3- Summer Days Slipping Away**

I finished packing while Callie sat on my bed, teasing Phire. I put all of my robes into my trunk (they were all too small now because I grew about an inch), followed by shoes, my books, and everything else. Then I closed it up, grabbed Addy's cage, and told Callie to bring Phire. Then the two of us went back outside, me lugging my giant trunk.

"Let's go to the Hecate cabin first," I said.

"Why?" Callie asked, still playing with my cat.

"Because Lizzy wanted to come to London also." We stopped by the cabin, but Lizzy wasn't in there. So we headed towards the big house, getting strange looks for tugging such a big trunk around. I just rolled my eyes, and Callie did the same any time anyone whispered behind their hands.

"Why are they doing that?" she finally asked, looking slightly peeved.

"Probably news got around that you're a daughter of Hades," I explained.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not bad, just different. The big three normally don't have kids."

We passed a group of demeter kids who broke out into whispers and I glared at them. Finally we made it to the big house and went inside. "Chiron!" I called. Lizzy came out of one of the rooms.

"What's wrong, Em?" she asked, motioning to my trunk.

"Change of plans. Harry got into trouble. He's in London early and since we have to do extra shopping for Callie I thought we could go a bit early. Where's Chiron? I have to tell him."

"He just left. Gods called an emergency meeting." That made me stop.

"Why?" I demanded.

"He didn't say. He only said he was leaving."

"Well we have to go to London. Do you still want to come?" I asked.

"When have I ever missed a shopping trip?" Lizzy rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm coming. Let me pack, then I'll talk to Argus. Why don't you go get Callie some clothes that actually fit her." She turned to Callie when she said this. "Not your fault that Emma's a stick." Callie laughed a bit, but she was slightly red. Lizzy flounced out of the big house and I once again rolled my eyes.

I placed my trunk against one of the walls and put my pets on top of them. "Let's go to the store," I said. Callie groaned.

"I hate shopping," she said. "Everything I wear makes be look pale."

"I know the feeling," I replied. "I'm always either pale or red."

"I'm never red, though. Always pale. It comes with having black hair and nearly black eyes." She motioned to her face.

"Fair enough," I replied. We made it to the store and I pulled the door open. We grabbed Callie a few essential toiletries, a couple of camp t-shirts, some jean shorts, and a bag to put it all in. We went up to the counter where, son of Hermes, was currently sitting.

"Hey Emma," Mike said, taking my items. Then he caught sight of Callie standing next to me and went white.

"Oh for Hades' sake, Mike, calm down," I rolled my eyes. "That's Callie. Callie, this is Mike Tolk, son of Hermes." Callie just smirked at his white face.

"Well… erm… here's your things. I'll see you around, Emma." Then Mike skedaddled into the back room leaving me and Callie, the latter trying to hold back her laughs.

"So I'm guessing people are scared of me now?" She said.

"Well you are a daughter of Hades. First one in centuries. They'll get used to it," I replied, passing her the bag. "Let's head back to the big house. Chiron will be waiting."

And indeed he was. Lizzy was standing outside of his office waiting for us. She looked slightly annoyed and slightly scared.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"I'll let Chiron tell you," was all Lizzy said, before motioning into the room. I told Callie to stay with Lizzy, much to both of their dismay.

"How come I'm sitting out here?" Lizzy asked.

"I want to hear too!" Callie complained.

"You're both acting like three year olds," I said. "Don't think I won't tell you everything when I come out." Lizzy rolled her eyes but sat down. Callie followed suit.

I pushed the door open and found Chiron sitting at his desk. He never sits at his desk. Unless he is telling us something bad.

"What's the matter?" I asked. Chiron looked slightly grim, like someone died. "What's the matter?" I repeated.

"It's about… school," Chiron replied.

"What about it," I asked, slightly relieved no one was dead.

"I don't think it's the… best… idea if you… you know.. Go back-"

"No," I replied. Now it made sense as to why he looked so sad. _He_ was the one that is going to die.

"With Ouranos at large and Kyle still out there, I-"

" _I_ don't care," I replied.

"Emma, you're needed here," Chiron replied.

"You managed fine last year," I replied. "And then people were kidnapped."

"Yes, but it's not safe anymore," Chiron said.

"What in Hades are you talking about?" I asked. "It's literally as safe as it is here."

"Emma," Chiron started in a calm voice.

"Don't talk down to me, Chiron," I said. "I'm perfectly able to take care of myself. This is what I've been training for since I was, like, 5. And my powers have adapted so much over the summer. I'll be fine!"

"I don't know," Chiron said.

"I'm going with or without your permission," I said. "I have enough money to buy tickets for me, Callie, and Lizzy."

"That's the other thing," Chiron winced. "Callie. She's untrained. I don't know-"

"I'm going," Callie said from the other side of the door.

"So am I," came Lizzy's voice next.

"Will you two shut it?" I asked. There was a few snickers, but no more talking. Then I turned back to Chiron. "Well, you heard them. They want to go. I want to go. We're going." Chiron looked upset.

"I don't think it's the best idea," Chiron said.

"Well yes, I got that much."

"With you not being able to heal fast, it's risky."

"My entire life is risky," I practically yelled. "Living here is risky. Living there is risky. It's just my life!" By the end, I was actually screaming. Chiron flinched as the lights started to flash. I looked down at my hands and saw bits of electric flashing off. "Sorry," I muttered.

Chiron reluctantly agreed after seeing my little… light show, and soon Lizzy, Callie and I were on a plane to London. I sat on the window seat, looking down at the tiny things below. Lizzy sat next to me, half sleeping ontop of me, half listening to music. Callie was on the outside, gripping onto the armrests like her life depended on it.

"I… don't… like… planes," she said through gritted teeth.

"Probably has something to do with your dad," I replied. "But you're fine. My father wouldn't do anything." It still felt weird to call Zeus my father.

Callie nodded, but was pale all the way until the announcement came, "Welcome to London. The date is August 8 at 7:50 am. Please enjoy your time in London!" We grabbed our carry on bags, mine including my disguised sword as a piece of parchment. I had my wand stuck down my book with my leggings pulled over top. Lizzy was grumpy that we woke her up and Callie was still looking green.

We hailed a cab and took it to the street the Leaky was on. The cabbie looked at us like we were crazy when we told him to let us off on a random alley. But he did, so we grabbed our stuff (getting some weird looks for my owl and trunk) out of the back and entered the pub. It was full of people eating breakfast and chatting. People stopped when we walked in, stared at me for a minute until I walked towards where Tom was, and the chattering continued.

"Ms Potter!" Tom, the innkeeper, said with a toothless grin. "What a pleasure. What can I do for you?"

"Can I have three rooms, Tom?" I asked, pulling out the last of my money. "Preferably by each other?"

"Of course! Rooms 12, 13, and 14 are free. Your brother is in room eleven." I brightened at the mention of Harry, excited to see him again. I passed Tom my money and brought Callie and Lizzy upstairs. I went to room 13 and told Callie and Lizzy to pick what ever one they wanted. The two of them fought over who got the room with the better view and I rolled my eyes before going into my room. It had a large queen sized bed in the middle of the room, a small desk under a window that looked over the busy London streets, a dresser, and a night table. Realizing it was going to be three more weeks until I went back to school, I decided to unpack my trunk. Then I let Addy out of the window and Phire out of her cage and opened the door, letting her run around.

Lizzy and Callie were still fighting over the rooms. "Oh will you two just pick one already?" I asked. They turned and looked towards me.

"Shut up, air head," Callie said. I raised my eyebrows. "What? Your father is Zeus, right?"

"What ever, death girl," I replied. Callie rolled her eyes. "Lizzy, take room 12. Callie take 14. Now go unpack!" The door to Harry's room was open, but the only person in there was a maid. "I'm heading downstairs and then to the shops. Meet me there." I got no response, so I went down the stairs to look for Harry.

He wasn't sitting anywhere in the bar or in the surrounding areas. I tried to ignore the stares that followed me wherever I went. It was like I was back to the first month of camp, when everyone learned I was actually a daughter of Zeus. Pretty much everyone but Lizzy spent half of the days staring at me like I was some unknown species, even though I've known most of these people since I was 7. It took a couple of weeks for them to figure out I was still just Emma. Apparently the wizarding world didn't get that message yet.

After checking the last parlor, I pulled my bag farther up my shoulder and fixed my sword into its sheath on my belt before going out to the brick wall. I tapped the third brick to the left above the trash and stood back as Diagon Alley came into view.

With three weeks until school, it was bustling with students getting their supplies. I walked into the crowd, waving to people as I saw them. Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson at the quidditch store.

"Are you trying out this year?" Angelina called to me. I nodded and she and ALicia smiled. "See you there!"

Colin Creevey was wondering around also. When he spotted me, he waved and I waved back. I wasn't particularly close with Colin, but he was in my year and my house, so we were friendly. He had another little boy with him who looked to be his little brother. Jake Lowery was there also, another Gryffindor Second year. I waved to him and Alex Simmons as I passed them together at the robe shop. I recognised a couple of more students, but didn't know any of them.

Finally I made it to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, where I saw a familiar bout of black hair hunched over parchment. I walked up behind him and said, "Wow you slacker. Still not done with your summer work?" Harry jumped out of his chair and spun around.

"Emma!" he cried, grabbing me in a hug. I hugged him right back, trying not to knock his circular glasses off of him. "You made it!" He pulled back and grinned at me, his hair as messy as ever.

I tried to muster up a serious look. "I can't believe you blew up your aunt, Harry." My face didn't work, though, and I started to snicker. Harry joined and soon the two of us were outright laughing, getting more than a few funny looks from passer byers.

"How's summer going?" Harry asked, sitting down. I sat in the chair across from him. Mr. Fortescue brought me out a sundae, but when I reached to give him money, he flat out refused.

"That was kind," I said.

"He's taken to bringing them out for me every hour," Harry responded. "But you never answered my question. How's summer?"

"Interesting," I replied. Before I could elaborate, I heard a shout of, "Emma!" And turned to find Lizzy and Callie coming towards me.

"You can't just leave us," Callie complained.

"Yeah, we had to ask a random wizard to let us into Diagon Alley. Neither of us have wands!" Lizzy said.

Then Callie stopped at the sight of Harry. "Who's this?"

"Oh right," I said. "Callie, this is Harry, my brother. Harry, this is Callie," I motioned towards the pale girl. "She's new to camp. And is a first year at Hogwarts."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said. My two friends pulled around chairs to join us at the table. Mr. Fortescue brought them sundaes also. "You have a British Accent, not American. I thought you are from Emma's camp."

"I'm from London," Callie replied.

"Why?" Harry asked. Callie looked towards me.

"Um, I'll explain later," I said, looking at all of the people around us. "But anyways, how's your summer going?"

Harry gave me a look. "How do you think?" He asked.

"Well, other than the Dursleys being pricks," I replied.

"Since I got here, fine. I only got here last night, so I haven't done any shopping since I knew I would just have to go get more stuff when you came."

"Speaking of which," Lizzy broke in, "I want to go on a shopping trip. Who's in?"

"I don't have any money," Callie said, playing with her two short black braids.

"That's fine," Lizzy said. "Chiron gave me a key to the vault for… our family."

"I didn't know our… family had a vault," I replied.

"Well it hasn't been open in centuries but yeah, we have one."

I glanced towards Harry who was putting his work away. "Are you ready?" He nodded, so the four of us made our way towards where the large marble building was. We walked in and went to one of the desks where a goblin was sitting. Callie, to her credit, didn't seem fazed by the arrival of the creatures.

"Um, we need to get to some vaults," I said.

"Which vaults?" the goblin murmured.

"Harry Potter's, Emma Potters, and-" I looked towards Lizzy, not sure what to call the other vault.

"The American-Greek vault," Lizzy supplied, passing me the the key. I passed all three to the Goblin who surveyed us, then called for another Goblin.

The entire way down to the vaults, I was holding onto Harry's hand like it was the last thing I was ever going to do. Underground doesn't agree with children of Zeus.

We went to Harry's vault first and Harry refilled his bag with a bit of money. "Don't you need more?" I asked.

"We need this to last," Harry said. "At least until I get a job."

"You realize," the Goblin who was with us put in, "that you get at least triple this once you come of age?"

"Wait, seriously?" Harry asked. The goblin nodded, so Harry got more money before we went to my vault. This time I got out and filled my bag to the top with money. I may be a demigod, but that doesn't mean I don't like shopping.

The demigod vault was extremely far into the bank. When the goblin opened it, a bunch of dust flew at us. Inside was more money than what I had in my vault. Piles upon piles of money was there.

I got out with Callie and helped her put some money into a bag. "The golden ones are galleons. The silver are sickles, and the bronze are knuts. Galleons are worth the most, than sickles, than knuts."

"I'm not going to remember that," Callie replied. I rolled my eyes as we finished putting money into the bag. We climbed back into the cart, then headed for above ground. I breathed a sigh of relief when we made it back into the sunshine and Callie laughed at me.

"Oh don't start," I said. "You were worse on the plane." Callie stuck her tongue out.

"Wow, you two fight like siblings," Lizzy chuckled.

"Well we are cousins," Callie said.

"So are we," Lizzy continued.

"So are we," Harry replied.

I rolled my eyes at them, and ran towards the bookstore. I could almost hear Harry and Lizzy groan as I opened the door and went straight in.

"Emma! School books first!" Harry called.

"You're not to boss of me!" came my reply. I strolled through the store, half consulting my list, half just grabbing books that looked interesting. Once my piles got to heavy to carry, I looked around to make sure no one was looking, then I solidified the air underneath them and had them floating around next to me.

"How many books did you get?" Harry stared at me when I finally, after about an hour, finished browsing. I had five large piles each with about 7 books in them.

"A few," was my response. I unsolidified the air and the books thudded to the ground. "Can you help me with these?" Together, the two of us put the books onto the counter. The cashier looked surprised to see so many books, but rang them up nonetheless. I took out a couple of bags I had brought and put the packages into them, willing the air around it to cover most of the weight. Callie and Lizzy came around, Callie with her new books. Once she checked out, the four of us made our way to the pet shop. Callie marveled at all of the different animals, but finally decided on a barn owl which she named Luke.

"I just like the name," she defended when Lizzy asked her why. From there, we went to the robe shop where we got robes for Callie, new ones from Harry who had grown a few inches, and a couple pairs for me because why not.

We got new potions ingredients, went to the quidditch shop where Harry and I spent a few minutes marveling at the new fire bolt before getting me some quidditch supplies for the upcoming year. We saw Oliver Wood there, also looking longingly at the Firebolt.

"Harry! Emma!" he called. The two of us waved at him as he came over. "Ready for another school year?"

"No," I said at the same time Harry said, "Yeah should be great."

Wood grinned. "Emma are you trying for the team this year?" he asked, motioning to the quidditch supplies.

"What gave it away?" I asked. "But yeah, chaser. I heard Katie is leaving."

"Yeah it's a shame," Wood said. "Her dad got transferred to a ministry job in Paris and they wanted to leave this year instead of next that way her little sister could start first year at a new school instead of switching."

I nodded as Harry said, "That's too bad."

"It is. But now we get a new addition to the team, right Emma?" Wood asked.

"That's up to you," I replied. Oliver bid us goodbye as his parents came over, and Harry and I finished up in the store. (I say finished, but really who's ever finished in a quidditch store? Lizzy and Callie pulled us out.)

"Where next?" Callie asked, still marveling slightly at the wizarding world.

"Wands," Harry replied. "Then robes, then anything else we may need."

"Books!" I said enthusiastically.

"No," Lizzy replied with fake enthusiasm. I swatted her arm.

"Em, you'll be here a couple of weeks. You'll have time for more books," Callie replied.

"Will you even have room in your trunk?" Harry asked.

"Of course," I replied. "I had the Hephaestus kids modify my trunk like yours."

"So that's how you managed the trunk," Harry replied.

"Did you have Max do it?" Lizzy asked.

"'Course" I replied. "Who else?" Max Craighton is a son of Hephaestus and one of the best blacksmiths at camp.

"Is Max anyone I should be worried about?" Harry asked, putting on his overprotective brother face.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah. He's such a cutie. All 7 years of him."

"Just asking," Harry said while Lizzy snickered. We brought Callie to Ollivanders where she got a wand with a core of a dragon, birch wood, and 11 ¾ inches.

"So I just… swish this... and magic works?" Callie asked once we left the shop, still rather confused.

"Not quite," I said. "It's a bit more complicated." She looked confused, but left it be, opting to just go to the robe shop.

"I'm tired," Callie complained, falling onto my bed.

"You're always tired," I replied. From little I've found about Callie, that was the truth. The girl always wanted to sleep.

"True," Callie agreed, her voice muffled from my blanket, "but I am especially tired today."

It had been a week since we had first gotten to Diagon Alley. Lizzy had left a couple of days ago, leaving Callie and I with Harry. So far, we had seen practically everyone from school, except those I wanted to see the most. Ginny and Astoria. My two friends had been mysteriously absent through the course of the summer.

But other than that, it had been a great week. We spent our days lolling around Diagon Alley, going through the stores and hanging under the sun. I spent a lot of time with Harry at the ice cream parlor reading while he finished summer work. Callie's favorite thing to do was just wander around the streets, looking at everything.

"Well I promised we'd meet Harry at Florean in fifteen," I said, pulling out my modified phone that worked against monsters and in magical places.

"What's that?" Callie asked, staring at my phone.

"A… phone?" I said, slightly questioning. "Exactly when did you die, Callie?"

"What year is this?" Callie asked.

"1999," I replied. ( **A/N- (Yes I am doing this) This was the year that the third book was published. It really doesn't matter, but for the sake of the whole phone thing, this is the cannon year.)**

"Well I was born in 1927, so I guess 1938," Callie said carefully.

"You seem… really well adjusted," I replied, trying to cope with the idea that the girl in front of me was 72 years old.

"Well, most technology things just kind of seemed… different," Callie replied, "But I knew everything would be a bit different. Like planes. They're so different than what they used to be. I guess we just never really had hand held phones."

"This isn't weird at all," I said with a sigh after a slight paused.

"How do you think I feel," Callie said. She looked deflated and almost… sad.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," Callie said.

"Are you sure?" I asked. Callie looked almost defeated. I had never seen her look like this.

"I-I'm fine," Callie said. "It's just… I guess I never realized how long I was dead. I-I had a brother. But it was 60 years ago. I'm not sure if he's still alive." Tears blossomed in her eyes.

I moved over and put my arm around the smaller girl. Callie put her head onto my shoulder and cried, letting the tears come over her.

"We'll find him," I promised. "We will." Callie nodded and composed herself again, wiping her eyes.

"Let me just… go take a shower, then we can go find Harry, yeah?" she asked.

"Alright," I said, letting go of her. "I'll be here." Callie nodded and left while I went over to my laptop, also moster/magic proof.

I typed in the search bar _Callie, death 1927_ and hit enter. Immediately a news article binged up. I opened it and started to read.

 _Calliope Garreth, aged eleven, and younger brother Luke Garreth, aged seven, died earlier this morning. The two kids in question were abandoned by mother Heather Garreth, who currently is missing and unavailable for questioning. The two kids were left on the streets for what neighbors claim could have been up to a year. Older sister Calliope died minutes before younger brother Luke, both who, it seems, have been attacked by a large animal. Police officers and doctor are still attempting to discover what animal that might have been. They are also still searching for mother Heather in the hopes of bringing her in for questions. For now, grandmother Janice Gareth has been brought in. Our prayers go out to the family and the friends of these young kids as they mourn their loss._

 **A/N Back to the wizarding world we go! I'm so excited because as much as I adore Percy Jackson, it's so much easier to write in the Harry Potter Universe. I'm about to start my last week of school so _YAY_! Because that means that I'll be able to just write all summer. Please please please please review because it really does help me write by giving me so much motivation. Thanks for reading/!**


	4. Friends, Enemies, and a Little Mystery

**A/N Whoops. I haven't updated in a bit. Sorry guys. I'm trying but I just finished school and thus finals. Finals suck, but they happen. And now I get to sleep until 10 and do nothing all day. Yay! Just a suggestion, though. If you want more frequent updates, review! They really do help me and I only have four reviews on this story. I don't want to sound needy, but I really do enjoy reading what you all say. Thanks! Now enjoy the chapter and happy summer to those of you on break!**

 **Chapter 4- Friends, enemies, and a little bit of mystery**

The article ended there at the same time that Callie came back through the door, her black hair damp.

"What's that?" Callie asked. I was half tempted to close the computer and lie, but Callie came over before I could make a decision and read the article over my shoulder. Slowly, she made her way towards my bed and sat down in stunned silence.

"Callie… I'm sorry," I said, unsure of what to say. Callie just sat there, not moving and not speaking. "Are you alright?" I tried again, but Callie didn't reply. She just sat there, in silence. "Do you- do you want to go to diagon alley?" I tried one more time. Callie didn't respond. She sat there, and I moved next to her, putting my arm on her. We sat there together until Callie fell asleep, whether from emotional or physical fatigue. I picked up her small form, light in my arms, and tuck her into my bed.

"Where were you?" Harry asked when I joined him at Diagon Alley twenty minutes later. I thought back to what had happened with her family and her death. There were so many questions I wanted to ask her. She told me that she got hit by a car. That she didn't know what had happened. But from what it seems, she was attacked by a monster.

"Just talking with Cal," I said, not willing to tell my brother the story that wasn't mine to tell.

"Where is she?" Harry asked, pulling out yet another essay.

"Sleeping," I replied. "She's exhausted. But seriously, why have you not finished your summer work?"

"When was I supposed to do it?" Harry complained. "At the Dursley's?"

"Fair enough," I said, pulling out my runes book. It was probably the most advanced books I had read on the subject, so I pulled out a runes dictionary also. Harry rolled his eyes.

"You really could have been a Ravenclaw," Harry smiled.

"You don't see my day to day life," I muttered.

"What? Fighting monsters?" Harry teased. I chucked a cherry from my ice cream at him.

"EMMA! HARRY!" I heard a familiar voice call. I turned and was met face to face with the bright blond hair of Astoria Greengrass.

"'Toria!" I cried happily, standing and hugging her. The blond had grown over the summer, making her officially taller than me. What else was new.

"'Toria?" Astoria asked with a smirk.

"Just trying things out," I defended.

"I kind of like it," Astoria replied, laughing. I motioned for her to sit. "So how was your summer?"

"Interesting," I said. "I met a new girl."

"What's her name?" Astoria asked. She hadn't known I was a demigod until after the battle in the chamber. I had told her what I was then, and after questions, she accepted it rather well.

"Callie," I replied. "She's a wizard. First year. She also… goes to camp with me."

"Interesting," Astoria said. "Do I get to meet her?"

"Later," I replied. "Right now she's sleeping at the Leaky. How was your summer?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

Astoria rolled her eyes and gave me a hard look. "One word. Delphine."

"Oh," I replied. Astoria's older sister was… one of a kind. She pretty much hated Astoria because she befriended Ginny and I as a Slytherin. She literally was the stereotypical Slytherin, only thinking her house was the best. "Is she still giving you a hard time?"

"She invited all of her Slytherin friends over and they all ignored me. The entire summer. Only thing they did to acknowledge my presence was the ugly glares and snide comments," Astoria said.

"Sorry, 'Toria," I said.

"It wasn't all bad," Astoria replied. "My parents felt so bad that they bought me pretty much whatever I wanted all summer."

"You _are_ rich," I pointed out. "They probably would have done that anyway."

"But that's the thing," Astoria said. "They refused to buy anything for Delphine until she was nicer. Suffice to say, Delphine didn't get anything this summer." There was a small smirk playing on her mouth.

"You're evil," I responded, shaking my head. "But she so deserved it."

"Astoria, hunny, we have to go," a tall blond woman said, coming over.

"Hold on, mum!" Astoria said.

"Are you going to introduce me to your friends?" The woman, probably her mother, asked.

"Mum, this is Emma and Harry Potter. Potters, this is my mum," Astoria said, rolling her eyes.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Greengrass," I said, taking the woman's hand that she had held out to me.

"You also, Emma," Mrs. Greengrass said, giving me a warm smile. "Astoria has told me so much about you." Harry shook her hand next, and they had practically the same exchange.

"Will you guys be at the Leaky long?" Astoria asked.

"Until the start of term," I replied. "So another week."

"Maybe I'll meet up with you again," Astoria said, giving me a hug and Harry a wave. "Also, I still want to meet that mysterious new girl."

I rolled my eyes at the blond, but said goodbye, leaving Harry and I once again alone.

The days flew by in one hazy image of lounging in the sun and eating ice cream. It was nice, being back with Harry and the wizarding world. Callie seemed to just pretend that the article had never happened. As much as I wanted more answers, I didn't want to push the younger girl yet. Instead, she hung out with Harry and I, still marveling at the wizarding world.

Before I was ready, the last day of summer came around and found me packing scattered books from around my room into my trunk. There was a soft knock at the door and I straightened up to see Harry.

"What's up?" I asked, placing the books I was currently holding into my endless trunk.

"I'm going to the alley. Do you want to come?" Harry asked, looking around at my now pretty much bare room.

"Sure," I said. "Did you ask Callie already?"

"I'm here," came Callie's voice from behind Harry. "You coming?"

"Yeah just give me a sec," I said, grabbing my sword off of my night table and transforming it down into a watch (Thanks Max!) and putting my wand in my back pocket. "Ready."

The three of us made our way through the Leakey and out onto the streets of Diagon Alley.

"Emma! Harry!" I turned, accidently hitting Harry in the face with my hair, and came face to face with another ginger.

"Ginny!" I cried happily, hugging my best friend. The redhead hugged me back just as tightly, both of us smiling like lunatics.

"Hullo Emma, good to see you too" came Ron's voice. I broke apart from Ginny as Hermione shot Ron a glare.

"Ronald!" Hermione replied.

"What?" Ron said, as oblivious as ever.

"Hi Ron," I said, smiling at him while hugging Hermione. "How was your summer?"

"Alright," Ron replied. "Though Ginny refused to shut up about how she wanted to see her friends. Quite annoying, really."

"Oh like you weren't complaining about being separated from Harry and Hermione while we were in Egypt," Ginny replied, rolling her eyes.

"I heard about that," I said, remembering the article from the prophet I had read. "How was it?"

"Amazing!" Ginny replied, her eyes sparkling.

"Why don't we find a place to sit?" Harry offered as yet another witch pushed past us.

"We have to get our books still," Hermione said, looking worried.

"We'll get them, 'Mione," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"Who's that?" Ginny whispered to me, motioning towards Callie who's pale cheeks flushed slightly.

"Oh right," I said apologetically. "Hermione, Ron, Ginny, meet Calle Gareth. Callie, meet Hermione Granger, Ron, and Ginny Weasley." I said, motioning to each person in turn.

"Nice to meet you," Callie said, smiling slightly.

"You also," Ginny said, looking slightly taken by the British accent instead of American. "How did you two meet?"

"Oh, she goes to my camp," I explained. All three students knew what that meant, all of them knowing that I was a demigod.

"I'm new. And a first year," Callie said.

"Well, welcome," Hermione said. "Do you all have your books?"

"Yes, Hermione," Harry intoned. "We've had them for a couple of weeks."

"We really need to move," I noticed as more people pushed past us. "To the book shop?"

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Callie groaned, but Hermione's eyes lit up. The six of us began the trek to Flourish and Blotts.

"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" Hermione asked, worried.

"Yeah," Harry admitted.

"Stupid," I muttered. Ginny and Ron were trying to hide their snickers behind their hands, but were very unsuccessful.

"It's not funny!" Hermione insisted, pulling back her bushy hair.

"It's kind of funny," Callie admitted, fitting right in with all of my friends.

"I like her," Ron immediately said.

"You like anyone who will argue with Hermione," Ginny stated.

"True," Ron conceded, "but for a good reason."

"Ronald!" Hermione protested, but before further argument could ensue between the two teens, we reached the bookstore and Hermione and I ran towards the books like a fish towards the sea.

"All packed?" Harry asked, coming into my room. We had spent the day hanging out with Hermione, Ginny, and Ron who told us that they were staying at the Leaky also. Currently, Ron was in a room across from me fighting with Percy, and Hermione and Ginny were next door, Ginny constantly coming into my room complaining about packing and then Hermione coming and dragging Ginny back to pack.

"Yeah," I replied, laying out my clothing for tomorrow, consisting of comfort clothing; an old camp t-shirt and soffee shorts.

"Guys, dinner time," Callie said. "Or at least, I think it is. A redhead woman came up to me and told me to get you guys for dinner."

"Well either that was a ironic mistake," I said, "or you just met Mrs. Weasley."

"Ginny and Ron's mum?" Callie asked, pulling Phire up onto her lap while Winter ran laps around her legs.

"Yeah," I said, pulling Winter into my arms. The small dog wriggled and started to lick my face so I held her at arm length. Winter had been a gift from harry for Christmas last year.

"Well, she seemed slightly impatient, so we might want to go," Callie said.

The three of us made our way down the stair and into the parlor, where Mr. Weasley was already sitting and reading a paper.

"Emma! Harry!" the redheaded man said, smiling. "How are you?"

"Alright," I said while Harry said, "Fine, thanks."

"And who's this?" Mr. Weasley asked, as Callie stood awkwardly behind us.

"This is Callie," I said. "She's a first year. And she goes to my camp."

"Well it's really nice to meet you, Callie," Mr. Weasley said, smiling.

"They still haven't caught him, then?" Harry asked, motioning towards a picture of a man I recognized as Sirius Black, mass murderer, on the front cover.

"No. They've pulled us all off of our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far." Mr. Weasley looked extremely tired, and rightly so.

"What's the Ministry?" Callie whispered to me.

"Government," I said. Mr. Weasley looked at us, confused. "Callie is a muggle born," I explained, coming up with the best explanation for Callie's situation.

"Oh!" Mr. Weasley said, probably wanting to ask Callie questions about Muggles, but we were saved by Mrs. Weasley entering, followed by Percy, Fred and George.

Percy came straight over to where Harry and I were standing and proclaimed, "Emma! Harry! How nice to see you."

"Hullo Percy," I said, saving Harry, who was holding back laughter, from answering.

"I hope you're well?" Percy asked me, shaking my hand, then Harry's.

"Yes, very," I said. Percy looked as if he wanted to ask another question, but was interrupted by being elbowed out of the way by Fred.

"Emma, fair maiden!" Fred cried, taking my hand and kissing it. I whacked him in the head. "Always such a pleasure, Madame-"

"Marvelous!" George said, elbowing Fred and taking my hand. He tried to kiss it, but instead, I kicked him in the leg. Fred had moved on to proclaiming about Harry. "Absolutely spiffing!"  
"Alright, that's enough," Mrs. Weasley said while Percy scowled. Ginny, Callie, and Ron were laughing behind their hands yet again.

"Mum!" Fred cried, acting as if he just spot his mom. Now it was my turn to hide my laughing behind my hand. "How really corking to see you-"

"I said, that's enough," Mrs. Weasley said, putting her shopping bags down and coming over to hug Harry and me. "Hello, dears. I suppose you guys heard our exciting news?" She pointed towards the head-boy badge perched on Percy's shirt. "Second Head Boy in the family!"

"And last," Fred muttered, causing our little group of four to snicker again.

"I don't doubt that," Mrs. Weasley stated, frowning at her twin sons. "I notice they haven't made you two prefects."

George looked as if he wanted to throw up. Fred even went as far as putting his hand on George and leaning on top of him. "What do we want to be prefects for? It'd take all the fun out of life."

Ginny stopped being able to hide her snickers behind her hand and full out laughed. Mrs. Weasley took this as inspiration and said, "You want to set a better example for you sister!"

"Don't worry, mrs. Weasley," I said, smiling, "she's still got me."

Ginny snorted. "Sure, Emma. Because you're such a good example."

"I'll have you know, I am a head counselor at camp," I said, putting on an affronted look. Now this made Callie snort.

"Yeah, and so am I," Callie replied.

"I thought you're new?" Ron said, confused.

"Exactly," Callie said. I pushed her lightly while Mrs. Weasley sighed.

"Why don't we go get some dinner," Harry reasoned.

"I'm going to change, first," Percy said, loftily. "I've been helping mum all day." He flounced out of the room and up the stairs.

"We tried to shut him in a pyramid," Fred whispered to Harry and Me. "But mum spotted us."

"Guys!" Hermione called, poking her head out of the other room. "Are you coming?"

Dinner was pretty much chaos. Food was passed up and down the tables, magically refilling once they were empty. Fred and George had fun making impressions of Percy behind his back, who sat there loftily fixing his badge. Ginny attempted to lasso Percy's badge with a piece of spaghetti when he wasn't paying attention. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were half talking, half laughing. Callie looked slightly overwhelmed, but happy all the same. I, personally, was engaging Percy in conversation so he wouldn't notice the other kids.

"Are you excited to return to school, Emma?" Percy asked, looking ever so pompous.

"Yeah," I replied, trying not to laugh as I see Fred pompously flipping his hair. "Are you?"

"Oh yes," Percy said. He looked as if he was about to jump into a long explanation, but I was saved the trouble of hearing it by Fred turning to talk to his dad.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" Fred asked, taking a large spoonful of pudding and accidently hitting George with some. George look affronted and went to go pick up more pudding, but a hard glare from Mrs. Weasley stopped him.

"The ministry's providing a couple of cars," Mr. Weasley said. Everyone stared up at him, surprised.

"Why?" Percy said, curiously. Ginny tried to lasso his badge again but Mrs. Weasley said, "Ginny. Stop." And the redhead, laughing, put the spaghetti down.

"It's because of you, Perce," George said, his face straight. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them-"

"-for Humongous Bighead," Fred said, the same serious expression. Everyone but Percy and Mrs. Weasley turned their heads and snickered into their pudding. Percy turned red up to his ears and Mrs. Weasley glared at all of us in turn.

"Why are the ministry providing cars, father," Percy said, in a dignified voice that didn't match his flaming red face.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," Mr. Weasley said, with a glance towards Harry and Ron, "and as I work there, they're doing me a favor."

Mr. Weasley spoke in a casual tone, but his ears went red just like every other Weasley's did when they were under pressure. I glanced towards Ginny who looked just as confused as I did. Harry, has always, looked to be plotting something.

"Good thing too," Mrs. Weasley said, looking to change to subject. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground… You are all packed, aren't you?"

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk, yet," said Percy, in the most dramatic yet serious voice I've ever heard anyone use. For what seems like the hundredth time, I tried to hide my laughter. "He's dumped them on my bed."

"You'd better go pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mrs. Weasley called. "What about the rest of you?" all of us muttered various forms of yes. "What about you, Callie dear? Do you need any help?"

"Oh, um… I'm good," Callie said, sending me a _help_ look.

"Truth or dare, Callie?" Ginny asked, pulling her legs into a crossed position. The three of us girls (Hermione still needed to finish packing) decided to have a 'girls night' and play truth or dare, then have a sleep over.

"Truth," Callie said, shutting the door once she came in.

"Who's your parent?" Ginny asked. "Your godly one."

"Hades," Callie replied, after a moment of hesitation. Ginny nodded, satisfied. "Emma, truth or dare?"

"Dare," I said immediately. "Who do you think I am?"

Callie rolled her eyes while Ginny replied, "Definitely not a sane person."

Callie thought for a minute, before saying, "I dare you to fly."

"Alright," I said. "Not that big of a dare, is it?"

"Fine. Fly… outside of Harry's room and knock on his window, wait for him to see you, then come back."

"Ok," I said. Not that big of a deal. I got up and threw the window open before checking if any muggles were below me, and climbing out.

I free fell through the air for a couple of blissful seconds before willing the winds to propel me up. I came face to face with Ginny and Callie, both who looked stunned. Ginny had seen me fly before, but only when she was exhausted and literally half dead.

"Hey guys," I said casually. "How are you?"

"You look like a flying Winnie the Pooh," Callie said, changing her surprise into a smirk.

"You look like Batman," I replied.

"Who's that?" Ginny asked.

Callie and I shared looks. "We need to educate her," Callie said.

"Oh yes. On all Marvel and DC things and Disney things," I replied.

"What's… Marvel and DC?" Callie asked.

I stared at her. "You don't know DC and Marvel?"  
"It was… after my time," Callie said, with a glance at Ginny.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, clearly annoyed at being out of the loop of so many things.

"Can I tell you once I'm not flying in the middle of London?" I asked, looking below my and cursing as someone goes to look up. I quickly flew into the window and wait for them to pass before going out again.

"Ok, enough chit chat," Callie said. "Go find Harry and say hi."

"Alright," I said, still rather unimpressed with the dare. "I'm going." I flew a couple of window's down into the room that was Harry's and knocked on the curtained window. There was no answer so I knocked again. Again, Harry didn't come. So I pulled open the window and stepped through, landing back on my feet. The room was empty.

"Harry?" I called. His trunk was open on his beds, things still spilling out. It was obvious that my brother wasn't in here, so I ventured outside into the hallway, only to find the Weasley twins snickering on the stairs.

"Emma," Fred whispered/laughed. "C'mere."

"What are you two up to?" I asked and the two of them shushed me.

"We've got it!" George whispered excitedly.

"Got what?" I asked, this time in a whisper.

"Percy's head boy badge," George explained.

"We've been improving it," Fred added. We all turned as we heard footsteps up the stairs. Harry came around the bend, took one look at us, and sighed.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, looking stressed.

"Are you alright?" I asked worriedly.

Harry nodded as Fred said, "We've got it. We've been improving it." We all stopped to listen for a second as Percy started to yell at Ron while he dismantled their room.

George held up Percy's head boy badge, but it now read, _Bighead Boy_.

Harry and I both laughed, but his seemed forced. We both stood up, and Harry turned to go to Ron's room while I bid the twins goodnight and followed him.

Harry gave Ron a tonic for his rat then went to his room. "Hey!' I said, following him through the door. "Harry!"

The boy in question sat down on his bed and looked deep in thought. "Harry?" I sat down next to my brother. "What's wrong?"

"I-I," Harry began, seeming at a loss for words. He took a breath. "It's Sirius Black. He's-he's trying to kill us."

"Kill us?" I asked, slightly alarmed. "Why us?"

"I have no idea," Harry said truthfully.

"Well he can get in line," I said with a sigh. "First Riddle, then Kyle and Ouranos, now Sirius Black. Oh, and not to mention a whole load of monsters."

"We really do have a lot of enemies, don't we," Harry said, rolling his neck.

"I guess we do."

 **A/N Questions? Review! Like it? Review! Didn't like it? Review! (See a trend here?)**


	5. Back to Hogwarts

**A/N I feel so bad because I haven't updated in sooo long. I've been away in Maine and haven't had the time nor wifi to update the story. Updates may be slightly spotty for the next week or so but then I'll be back. The good thing is I've written a good portion of this story so updates will be long and frequant as soon as I get back to civilization. Until then, enjoy this next chapter.**

 **Chapter 5: Back to Hogwarts**

"You two are so adorable." I opened my eyes blearily, wincing at the bright light streaming in through the open curtains. I never leave the curtains open for this exact reason.

"They are adorable, aren't they?" came another voice. This time the voice actually registered in my head as Ginny's, so I chucked a pillow in that general direction. There was still an arm around me, and I had a minor heart attack before remembering that I ended up staying with Harry that night. The boy in question was still fast asleep, his glasses slightly askew on his face. I pushed him off me and he stirred.

"What time is it?" he moaned.

"8 am," Callie said. "You two need to get up. We're leaving in an hour." I sighed and chucked another pillow in that direction, but got up anyway, pulling Harry up also.

While Harry changed in his room, I went to my own, threw on an old camp t-shirt, an oversized Yankees sweatshirt, and legging, brushing my hair into a messy bun and lacing up my combat boot. I shooed Phire into her crate and Addy into her cage before shutting my trunk and taking all of it into the hallway along with my broom. Hermione was out there talking to Ginny and Callie, all of them standing by trunks and cages.

"Are you guys ready to go?" I asked, pulling my trunk over to them.

"What sweat shirt is that?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, it's a Yankees sweatshirt," I said.

"Yeah, but who are the Yankees?" Ginny asked, still confused.

"Only the best baseball team in America," I said, then added, "but you don't know what baseball is, do you." Ginny shook her head. "It's like… well it's a sport," I offered, before giving up on it when Harry and Ron walked out of Harry's room.

"Can we leave now?" Ron asked loudly. Hermione rolled her eyes. "At ;east I can get away from Percy when we get to Hogwarts. Now he's saying that I dripped tea on the picture of his _girlfriend_. I can't believe anyone would actually date him. There is obviously something wrong with Penelope Clearwater."

"Yes, great job on that one, Ron," George said, coming over with Fred.

"Yes, even _we_ didn't think of that," Fred added.

"Can we go to breakfast," Hermione said with a sigh, obviously done with the Weasley's antics. The eight of us made our way to breakfast, where Mr. Weasley was reading a prophet and Mrs. Weasley was trying to calm down Percy.

"Good, everyone's here!" Mr. Weasley said, clapping his hands together. "The cars from the ministry are here. Everyone grab something to eat and let's go." The cars were big, black vans. "They were supposed to send small cars, but I guess they got word that we had a bigger party than we thought. Let's see, they seat eight? Alright, so Harry, Emma, Ron, Hermione, Callie, and Ginny, get into this car," he motioned towards the closest car and ushered us in, casting glances to either side. He shut the door, said a couple of other things, than got into the car himself. "Everyone ready?" We all muttered various forms of 'yes'. "Then let's go."

The journey to King's cross was fairly uneventful. Ginny, Callie, and I were shoved into the back of the car with Ron, Hermione, and Harry in front of us respectively. We made it to Kings cross twenty minutes before we had to actually be on the train. The Ministry workers shared a few words with Mr. Weasley before we made our way into the station.

Mr. Weasley stayed between Harry and me the entire way to the platform, sending cautionary glances both ways. In return, Callie and Ginny were sending me questioning glances and it looked like Ron and Hermione were doing the same to Harry.

We made it to the platform and Mr. Weasley announced, "Let's do this in pairs. I'll go with Emma, Molly go with Harry, Hermione and Ron, Callie and Ginny, twins, and Percy can go by himself. Alright?" We all nodded. Mr. Weasley motioned me forward while pushing my trolley. I followed him and we strolled casually up to the barrier before leaning on it and sliding through. Harry and Mrs. Weasley followed, and soon we were all on the platform.

"Ahh! There's Penelope," Percy said, smoothing back his hair, straightening his Head boy badge, and striding over to a ravenclaw with long, curly hair.

"Should we go find a compartment?" I asked as the train started to fill up. The twins went off, going to find their friend Lee Jordan, so Ginny, Ron, Harry, Hermione, a wide eyed Callie, and I went off. I waved to a couple of other second years including Luna Lovegood and Danny Williams, both Ravenclaws.

"Were we really that small?" I whispered to Ginny as we passed a couple of small students that looked like first years.

"We couldn't be," Ginny replied.

"You're not to tall yourself," Callie replied defensively. It was true. The small black headed girl was at least 5'2" and I was only 5 foot.

"Shut up, Death face," I replied, shoving the younger girl.

"Anything you say, Supergirl," Callie replied with a smirk.

"Will you two stop it with the power nicknames," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Nothing," we all said quickly. We got to the train and we loaded our trunks onto the landing.

"Be safe," Mrs. Weasley said, kissing each of her children, including Hermione, Harry, Callie, and I. "Stay out of trouble, alright?"

"Harry, Emma, can I speak with you for a second," Mr. Weasley said quietly, motioning to a pillar. Harry and I followed him over, leaving the others questioningly glancing after us.

"There's something I want to tell you two," Mr. Weasley started, his voice tense and slightly strained.

"It's fine, Mr. Weasley," Harry said. "We know."

"You know?" Mr. Weasley asked, confused.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Harry overheard you and Mrs. Weasley talking, then the two of us talked together."

"That's not how I wanted you guys to find out," Mr. Weasley said, worriedly.

"But it's the best way we could have found out," I reasoned.

"Yeah, that way you don't break your promise to Fudge," Harry said. "And we know what's happening."

"You two must be very scared," Mr. Weasley said.

"It's honestly alright, Mr. Weasley," I said. "I mean, really. Sirius Black can't be much worse than Voldemort is, can he?" Mr. Weasley flinched at his name.

"Harry, Emma, I knew you guys were stronger than Fudge seems to think, but-"

"Arthur, hurry!" Mrs. Weasley called as the train whistle blew.

"I need you guys to give me your word that-"

"We'll stay in the castle?" Harry guessed while I said, "Won't get ourselves in danger."

"Sort of," Mr. Weasley agreed. "I need you guys to promise me you won't go looking for Black, no matter what happens. Alright?"

"Why would we go looking for Black?" I asked as a train whistle blew.

"He want's to kill us, yeah?" Harry agreed.

"Just swear to me-"

"Arthur, hurry!" Mrs. Weasley called. Mr. Weasley had one more worried glance pass his face before shooing us over to the train. We climbed on as a guard walked down and shut the door that we had just gone through.

Ron threw open the door to the train and we ran in, waving to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley until we turned a corner and they went out of view.

"I need to talk to you guys," Harry said.

" _We_ need to talk to you," I amended. "What compartment are we sitting in again?"  
"We've got to find one," Hermione admitted. "We didn't get onto the train until late."

"Well let's go," I replied. The six of us walked down the train, looking into compartments and waving to a couple of our friends and introducing Callie along the way.

"What about here?" Ginny asked, motioning to a compartment at the end of the train with only one older man inside.

"It's the only one left, so I guess we have no other choices," Callie said, yanking the door open and taking a seat. The compartment was rather big, having three different benches that fit three people each, so it wasn't a tight fit. I went on the window side and took a seat, Ginny sitting next to me, and Callie sitting on the bench next to ours and next to the man. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat on the last bench, and we stored all of our trunks up top.

"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron asked, being, as usual, very blunt.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," Hermione whispered. I guess we were whispering now.

"How do you know that?" Ginny asked, once again whispering.

"It's on his case," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. Of course she realized that. She realizes everything. She literally could have been a daughter of Athena and no one would have batted an eyelash.

"What does he teach?" Callie asked.

"I d'know," Ron said. "He's new."

"Obviously Defense," I replied. "What other positions are needed to be filled?"

"I hope he's better than Umbridge," Ginny sighed.

"Yeah she was a right-" Ron started

"Ronald!" Hermione cried. "Little kids and teachers!"  
"Oi, i'm not little!" Callie and I cried. Everyone stared at me. "Sorry," I muttered. "Instincted."

"Well you are little," Callie replied.

"Stuff it, Death face."

"There you are!" Astoria pulled open the door to the carriage and flounced in, her usual graceful self, and plopped in the seat next to Callie. "I literally searched the entire train for you guys." She turned to Lupin. "Who's this and who," she turned towards Callie, "are you?"

"Professor R. J. Lupin and Callie," I said.

"Ohhhh, new girl," Astoria said, sticking out her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Astoria, resident Slytherin. Or," she said, smirking at me, "'Toria."

Ginny snickered. "'Toria?" she laughed.

"I was just trying something out!" I protested.

"You're just trying everything out, aren't you, Supergirl," Callie said.

"Death Face."

"Bird Brain."

"Ooooh, new one," I said. "Very nice, Ghost kid."

"I try, Air girl."

"Are they always like that?" Astoria asked.

"Most of the time," Harry supplied. "You kind of get used to it. They are cousins."

"Yeah, so are you guys," Ginny said.

"I thought you were siblings," Callie said.

"Adopted siblings, actually cousins," I said. "It's a… long story."

"Wait, so let me guess," Astoria said. "Hades?"

"You know Greek Mythology?" Callie asked.

"Course. The parents pretty much made us learn every Mythology known to man. I also can talk in five different languages." Astoria stretched herself out.

"I can speak Greek," I supplied.

"I can speak English," Harry added.

"Maybe I'll teach others to you at some time," Astoria offered.

"So what did you want to tell us?" Hermione asked, ever the one to stay on topic.

With occasional help from me, Harry explained the meeting that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had at the bar and the warning that Mr. Weasley gave to us before we left. After we finished, Ginny and Ron shared similar thunderstruck looks, Astoria looked confused, Hermione had her hands over her mouth, and Callie looked slightly startled.

"Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban… to come after you?" Astoria asked.

"Harry, Emma, you guys have to be really carefull! Don't go looking for trouble-" Hermione said, lowering her hands.

"I don't go looking for trouble!" Harry protested.

"Yeah," I added. "Trouble normally just taps us on the shoulder just to say hi."

"It's not funny!" Hermione cried when Ginny started to chuckle.

"How thick would Harry have to be to go looking for someone that wants to kill him," Ron said, shakily.

"What about me?" I asked, noting my definite lack of inclusion.

"We all know you can hold your own in a fight, Em," Ron said. "And also, you're not as dumb as Harry."

"Hey!" Harry said.

"You know it's true," I teased.

"Speaking of which," Hermione said. "Are you excited for Ancient Runes this year?"

"Yes!" I said. This year, I was taking runes even though it was a third year class. I guess photographic memories do come in handy. "I read all the course books last year so I picked up a couple of books on advance runology over the summer and have been reading that as well as the other books you guys got me," I smiled at them. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" the trolley lady said, pulling open our carriage door.

"Thank gods," Callie muttered. "I don't think I could have lived with listening to Hermione and Emma spout off what books they read." Callie surveyed the trolley and looked fairly confused.

"That's like a chocolate bar," I offered, pointing to the chocolate frogs. "Just in frog form."

"I'll take two of those and the… jelly beans?" Callie offered.

The trolley lady laughed and passed Callie two frogs and two every flavored beans.

We all ordered our sweets, then Hermione said, "Do you think we should order something for him?" She gestured towards where Professor Lupin was fast asleep.

"Don't worry, dearies," the witch said, handing out our candy. "If he's hungry when he wakes up, send him to me. I'll be in the front with the driver."

"This candy is good," Ron said, "but I'm more excited for the stuff at Honeydukes."

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's the sweet shop at Hogsmeade," Ron explained, looking slightly dreamy.

"You'll have to tell me how it is," Harry said, looking depressed.

"What d'you mean?" Ron asked.

"I can't go. The Dursley's didn't sign my permission form," Harry said.

"You're not allowed to come! But- no way- McGonagall or someone will give you permission!" Ron said incredulously.

"Where's your form?" Callie asked, looking bored.

"Why?" Harry asked, going to his trunk and pulling out a piece of parchment.

"Just give it here," Callie said. "And what's your guardian's name?"

"Vernon Dursley," Harry said, confused.

"Can I borrow your phone?" Callie asked. "I need to look something up." I pulled out my phone, a rather high tech model that Max from the Hephaestus cabin whip up for me.

Callie typed a couple of things into the keypad scrolled through a couple of things before her face lit up.

"What are you doing?" I asked when she pulled out a pen from her bag.

"Living on the streets has taught me a thing or two about forging signatures," Callie explained, carefully writing out a signature on the piece of parchment. "And if there is one thing I've learned from watching you on your computer, it's that you can find anything on the web. And… done!" Callie held up the parchment, now with a signature looking like _Vernon Dursley_ on it.

"How did you do that?" Harry said, his eyes wide.

"I thought I just explained," Callie said, rolling her eyes. "Living on the streets in the 1920s teaches you a thing or two."

"Hold up," Ron said. "19...20s?"  
"I guess we have another story to tell," I said, rolling out my shoulders and sending Callie a glance. "They were going to figure it out sooner or later. They already know we're demigods. How hard can it be for them to get this?"

Callie told them the same story that she told me all those weeks ago back in the infirmary at camp. "So yeah," she finished. "I'm kind of old, I guess."

"You guess?" Ginny said, wide eyed. "You're like… 70."

"I-" Callie began, but the compartment door was pulled open and revealed Draco Malfoy standing with his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

"What do you want?" I asked sighing.

"Well, if it isn't the Potties and Weasels. Oh, and the mudblood and blood traitor." Crabbe and Goyle chuckled like trolls. "I heard your father finally got his hands on some money, Weasley. Did your mother die of shock?"

"Oh shut up, Malfoy," I said.

"Or what, Potter? Not much you can do, is there?" Malfoy smirked.

I tried to stand up, but Ginny pulled me down, muttering "Leave it, Em."

I crashed back down, knocking over Phire's cage causing the cat to shriek. Professor Lupin stirred and snorted, causing Malfoy to look up. While he was confused, I used the air to push him back into the hallway.

"Who's that?" Malfoy said, stumbling around.

"New teacher," Callie said.

"You were saying, Malfoy?" Harry said.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, obviously not foolish enough to pick a fight in front of a teacher.

"C'mon," he muttered, and the three Slytherins walked out of the carriage. I willed the air to slam the door after them.

"Well they're jerks," Callie said.

"Bright observation," I muttered.

"I'm not taking any crap from Malfoy this year," Ron said, looking furious. Ginny was fuming next to him.

"If he makes one more crack about mum and dad," Ginny said, making a gesture that I've only ever seen a child of Ares make.

"Ginny!" Hermione hissed, obviously taken aback. "Be careful! There's a teacher in here!" But Lupin was still asleep, and the train sped on, oblivious to what was happening inside.


	6. Trains, Planes, and Awful Rides

**A/N I'm back! But my laptop is still not working and my dad hasn't had the time to go out with me to either get it fixed or get a new one. But on a different note, I started to watch Grey's Anatomy and its actually amazing so no spoilers because I'm only on season 2 episode 8 (I am currently watching it while writing this) so yay! But I really have to get back to writing because I've been away for a while and haven't had much time. Anyway enjoy the chapter and please please please review!**

As the train sped farther north, the rain started to fall heavier and thicker than before. The constant thudding of rain became a sort of lulling sound that eventually led me to sleep on top of Ginny's shoulder. But my luck of no bad dreams this summer had finally run out.

" _Master," came a familiar voice. Kyle walked out of the shadows and knelt in front of what looked like a throne. "You called for me?"_

" _What do you know of the girl?" came a rough voice._

" _Do you mean Emma?" Kyle asked. The name of my voice on his tongue made me cringe. "From the information I've gathered, she's on her way back to school. The train is currently somewhere on the edge of Scotland."_

" _I don't care_ where _she is. I want to know what her stance is." Kyle turned white as a sheet. "You have told her about my promise, correct?"_

" _I-I haven't gotten around to it," Kyle muttered._

" _Well make sure to tell your little…_ girlfriend _," the voice deemed to almost scoff at the word, "knows that the only way she can live is if she joins us."_

" _You don't know Emma like I do," Kyle said, cringing. "She'll never join us unless we can promise the protection of her family and friends. She's loyal and heroic to a fault. Even if we can promise their protection, she still may not join us." Kyle looked as if the words hurt to say._

" _Well then it's your job to make our offer seem… irresistible."_

 _My dream shifted, swirling into black. Lights then became blinding and I threw up my hand to keep the light out of my face._

 _Camp came into view, surrounded by monsters. I saw Lizzy, running towards where Michaela Lillie, daughter of Ares, was standing near the arena, sword at the ready._

" _How long do we have?" Lizzy asked. She looked… different. Almost older. Her hair was pulled back in it's usual blond ponytail and her sword hung loosely at her belt._

" _I'm not sure," Michaela said. Sammy, son of Athena came around with a notepad._

" _Give or take 5 days," he said._

" _We have to tell Emma," Lizzy said._

" _She has enough on her plate," Michaela reasoned. "Last I heard she was in the infirmary still barely able to move." I felt myself go stiff. What in the world were they talking about?_

" _Well if we don't do something, no one will be able to move," Sammy said. "We have until the summer solstice before the barrier falls and camp is overrun by monsters."_

" _And we still have to find Chiron," Michaela added._

" _Don't remind me," Lizzy said. "'Why did Chiron put me in charge?"_

" _Because other than Emma who currently is incapable of being in charge since one, she's twelve, and two, she's currently in the infirmary, you've been here the longest and Chiron trust's you the most." Michaela strapped her sword to her belt and put a couple of throwing knives in her boots. "I have the armory stocked and ready."_

" _Alright," Lizzy said. "I'm going to send everyone who is able to fight to you so you can get them stocked and ready, starting with the Athena cabin. Then Sammy, I need you guys to all go make some battle plans. We're going to win this."_

 _Both kids nodded and went their separate ways, one to get the arms ready and the other to ready their siblings._

" _Emma," Lizzy said, looking towards me, but her eyes not really focusing, as if she felt me there but couldn't see me. "We need you."_

" _Emma," came another voice. "Emma, wake up."_

I gasped and sat up right, met with total darkness and what felt like a hand on my face.

"Emma!" Harry's voice rang in my ears and I noted the considerable lack of motion.

"Why is the train stopped?" I asked.

"We're not sure," came Hermione's voice. I felt around and realized I was on the ground, so I hoisted myself back onto the seat.

"Emma, you sat on my hand," Ginny complained.

"Oh I'm sorry," I said sarcastically. "I can't believe I didn't see your hand there."

"Ouch Ron!" Hermione's voice came, "that was my foot!"

"D'you think we've broken down?" Harry asked.

"I dunno," Ron replied.

"There's something moving outside," Astoria said. "I think we're letting more people on."

"Does it feel cold to you?" Callie asked. And it did. I felt myself shiver slightly as iciness fell over me.

The compartment door slid open suddenly and something fell forward on top of my feet. "Sorry- d'you know what's going on?- Ouch- sorry-"

"Hullo Neville," Harry said.

"Harry? Is that you? What's happening?"

"Sit down, Neville," I said, moving around and trying to find the boy before pulling him up.

"I'm going to go ask the driver what's going on," Hermione said. The door slid open, but once again I felt something fall on top of me.

"Who's that?" Hermione's voice rang.

"I'm-I'm sorry. I was trying to find my compartment... I was in the bathroom. Who's this?" came an unfamiliar voice.

"I'm Hermione, and you are?"

"I'm-I'm Tessa. I'm a first year… do you know what's going on?"

"We have no idea," Callie said. "D'you want to come sit?"

"Yes, please." Tessa sounded relieved as she felt her way towards what I guess was a seat and sat down.

"So where are you from, Tessa?" Ginny asked.

"I'm from Brighton."

"Really! Same!" Callie said.

"Eww, London is so much better."

"No it's not!"  
"What's wrong with you?"

"Quite!" a hoarse voice cried out suddenly.

It appeared that professor Lupin had awaken. All of us sat there with our mouths shut. There was a crackling noise and suddenly our compartment was filled with light from a flame now crackling in Professor Lupin's hand. A small red head girl was currently taking up occupation on the floor corner of our compartment.

"I'm guessing you're Tessa," I said.

"Shhhh!" Lupin said. "Stay where you are." The professor got slowly to his feet, but the door slid open before he could reach it.

In the doorway, illuminated by the flames, was a cloaked figure. My first thought went immediately to _monster_ and I went for my sword, before realizing that I had taken it off my belt and put it in my trunk before I went to sleep. I really had to invest in a way to make my sword carriable.

The figures face was completely hidden by the folds of its cloak. The only thing visible was a withered hand, and even that disappeared after a second.

And then everything disappeared. My eyes rolled back in my head and I felt myself collapse. I felt like I was drowning which, for a child of Zeus, is a very scary thing. I felt myself falling down, down, into a black abyss. There was a rushing in my ears. Water rushing past me, roaring, growing louder…

And then screaming. I heard voices. Lizzy was screaming. A woman was screaming. Two women were screaming. I heard my name, shouted over and over in anguish. I was going to die. There was nothing left. I was going to die.

And then light. Blinding light. I felt myself rushing up. Up.

I sat up, gasping for air, clawing at my throat, gasping. Wheezing.

"Emma! Emma are you alright!" Harry was at my side, his arm around me, me on the floor. Ginny and Astoria were white faced staring at me. Neville, Tessa, and Professor Lupin were standing, watching concerned. Ron and Hermione looked relieved.

"I-I'm alright," I said, trying to sit back and falling over, smacking my head against the floor and groaning. I felt sick, as if I was either about to puke or pass out again. Cold sweat drenched my forehead.

"What happened?" Callie's voice groaned from beside me. I turned my head and saw the black head girl lying on the floor next to me.

"You both passed out," Ginny said, looking scared.

"Harry did too," Hermione added, and I looked worriedly at my brother.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well I don't know what happened to you guys, but I feel like I got trampled y a couple of hellhounds," Callie said. I laughed silently at her use of Greek Mythology. In the couple of weeks we had spent at the Leaky Cauldron, Callie insisted on learning everything she could about Greek Mythology. Being the wonderful demigod I am, I complied.

"What's a hellhound?" Tessa asked, looking both scared and confused.

"Oh, it's a little joke we have," I covered quickly. If I was honest with myself, I agreed a hundred percent with Callie. I felt as if my insides were ran over by a truck, the n the truck turned around and came back, but then realized it was going to right way, so turned back. But was I going to tell them that? Of course not.

"Did you hear screaming too?" Harry asked me and Callie, looking desperate.

"Yes," Callie said reluctantly.

"I did too," I replied, realizing that all three of us heard kind of the same thing.

"That would make sense," Lupin said, cracking a large piece of chocolate. "A dementor can make you see your worst memories you have." He passed us each a piece of chocolate, hesitated, then decided to pass it out to everyone else.

I held my chocolate but didn't eat it. My stomach was in knots between my dream and the dementor. With the help of Ginny and Astoria, Callie and I made our way to our seats and sat.

"Is there any way that we can open a window?" I asked.

"I don't see why not," Lupin said, so I reached towards the closest window and opened it. Cold air rushed in and I felt it wrap around me. I breathed deeply and felt my body relax, the pain go away. Who needs ambrosia, nectar, or magic when you have pure nature. Well, I guess anyone who wasn't a child of Zeus.

"Eat," Lupin told us. "It will help. I need to speak to the driver. All of you stay here." Lupin left the compartment, leaving the nine of us sitting together, squeezed onto the three benches. Astoria, Ginny, and I sat together on one, Harry, Hermione, and Ron on another, and Callie sat with Neville and Tessa on the third. The two younger girls seemed to immediately have taken to each other and now Callie was trying to calm down a scared Tessa. Tessa had told us that Lupin said it was too dangerous for her to leave right now.

"Are you three sure you're ok?" Hermione asked, watching Harry, Callie, and I anxiously.

"We're fine," I said insistently. I shut the window and the roaring of the wind stopped. "I still don't get it, though. What happened?"

"Well that thing… that dementor… it stood there and looked around… at least I think it looked around, I couldn't see it's face… and then Emma collapsed first… she kind of started to spasm… then Callie fell next to her, luckily not on her, and did the same thing… then Harry just kind of turned white and looked like he was having a… fit of some sort." Hermione said this all very fast and very quietly.

"All three of you kind of, just fell on the floor. Then Lupin stepped over you and walked towards the door, pulled out his wand," Ron picked up, "and said 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go'. But the dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away…"

"It was horrible," Neville added, still shaking.

"It felt like I was never going to be happy again," Ginny added. Tessa let out a small sob, and I went over to her and put my arm around her. Callie, who looked rather scared herself, gave me a grateful smile.

"Hey, it's alright," I muttered to the younger girl. I looked down at her hands and saw that she had already had all of her chocolate. "Here," I passed her mine and Tessa nibbled on it, looking like she couldn't decide if she was grateful or just plain scared. "It's going to be alright. The dementors are gone." Tessa nodded her head, and I pulled her into a hug.

The compartment door opened and Professor Lupin came back in. "We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. Are you all alright?" We all nodded, Tessa sniffling while doing so. "Tessa, would you like to go back to your compartment?"

Tessa shook her head. "They were all third years and none of them talked to me," Tessa explained. "I like you guys more."

We all laughed. Professor Lupin decided, since there were no more seats, to spend the rest of the trip in the front with the conductor. He bid us farewell and told us to finish the chocolate he left us with.

The rest of the train ride was spent in a blur of laughter and games, with us sitting either on the seats or on the floor. Tessa, it turned out, was a muggle born, so she had no idea how any of the wizarding games. We taught her exploding snap as well as explained the concept of quidditch.

The train came to a slow stop and the nine of us got up, brushing off candy wrappers and putting away games and books. We all made our way out into the corridor where there was a scramble to get out. We were pushed this way and that before finally emerging on an icy platform. Freezing rain was coming down in icy sheets, making the tiny platform as freezing as if it were the dead of winter.

"Todo, we're not in New York anymore," I muttered, and Tessa laughed, being the only one to get that other than Hermione who was farther away from me.

"Firs' years this way!" came Hagrid's voice. The half giant in question waved at the nine of us. I wasn't particularly close with Hagrid, but I knew that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were and he did help us out a lot last year. "All righ' you all?" Hagrid called.

We all waved, but couldn't be heard over the crowd. Tessa and Callie said goodbye to us then made their way over to where Hagrid was collecting all of the other first years. The carriage was only supposed to fit six, but the seven of us didn't feel like splitting up, so I sat on Harry's lap and we got a load of jokes about me being such a little sister. I then proceeded to point out that four of the seven of us are actually little siblings, three being sisters.

The carriage came to a stop and the seven of us clambered out, Neville bidding us farewell to go catch up with Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones.

"You fainted Potter?" came a voice in front of us. I turned away from where Neville had just left to find the gleaming blond head of Draco Malfoy standing in front of us. "You and your kid sister _fainted_?"

I pulled my wand out and pointed it at Malfoy. "Don't make me jinx you, Malfoy."

"Like I'm scared of some second year," Malfoy scoffed. I flicked my wand and Malfoy fell backwards, pushed into the door as if, wait for it, bound by air. "What are you doing," Malfoy said, scared. "What is this?"

"Is there a problem?" came Professor Lupin's calm voice came floating through the air.

"Oh, of course not, professor," I said, putting my wand away while simultaneously letting go of my control of the air. Malfoy gave a glare in our direction before stalking into the hall.

With a glint in his eye, Lupin said, "Run along, now. Professor McGonagall wants to see Hermione, Harry, and Emma. And you know how she doesn't like to be kept waiting."

I exchanged a questioning glance with Harry before making my way into the hall, breaking off from Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Astoria and continuing towards where professor McGonagall was.

"You wanted to see us, Professor?" I said when we reached the tall woman.

"Ah, Ms. Potter. This way." McGonagall turned on her heel and made her way across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, and then along one more corridor before ushering her into her office. McGonagall settled down behind her desk and the three of us took the chairs in front of it. "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you two were taken ill on the train," McGonagall started looking at Harry and I.

I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could say anything, there was a soft knock at the door and Madame Pomfrey came bustling in.

I felt myself roll my eyes at the sight of her. Sure, the matron was extremely nice, but I was _fine_ and I bet Harry was feeling the same way. I looked towards my brother and saw that his face was as red as my hair.

"Oh my gods, we're _fine_ ," I said tilting my head back and heaving a sigh.

"We seriously are, Professor. We're alright," Harry added.

"Oh it's you two, is it," Madame Pomfrey said. "Of course. It's always you two. I suppose you were doing something dangerous again, weren't you?"

"It was a dementor, Poppy," Professor McGonagall said. "Potter, Potter, and a first year, Callie Gareth were affected greatly."

"Oh yeah," I said. "Why isn't Callie here?"

Of course, I was ignored while the two teachers shared knowing and disapproving looks.

"Setting dementors around a school," Madame Pomfrey said, pushing back my hair first and feeling my head. I swatted her hand away which earned me a disapproving look as she moved and did the same to Harry. "They won't be the last ones who collapse. Yes, they're both very clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate-"

"Excuse me?" I said. "I'm not delicate." Like, really, my everyday life is more dangerous than pretty much everyone else. At the same time, Harry said, "I'm _not_ delicate!" Hermione looked as if she was trying to hide her laughter.

"Of course you're not," the matron said absentmindedly, now feeling our pulses. I tried to pull away, but she kept a firm grip on my arm.

"What do they need," McGonagall said, getting straight down to buisness. "Bed rest? Perhaps they should spend the night in the hospital wing?"

"I. Am. Fine," I said, standing up. Harry followed suit, his face going red again. "Really, Professor."

"I don't know," Madame Pomfrey said. "You both are still very pale and clammy."

"It was nice seeing you," I said, making my way to the door.

"Ms. Potter," McGonagall said strictly. "Sit back down." I scoffed, rolled my eyes, and sat back in the chair. "Thank you."

"At least eat some chocolate," Madame Pomfrey insisted, looking slightly annoyed.

"We already had some," Harry said. "Professor Lupin gave some to us." I looked the other way, remembering that I gave mine to Tessa. Harry glanced over at me and said, "You didn't eat yours, did you?"

I glared at him and he gave me his overprotective brother look. Madame Pomfrey clicked her tongue and said, "Of course you didn't eat it." She broke both me and Harry a piece of chocolate and then stood over us to watch and make sure we ate it.

"Are you sure you feel alright?" McGonagall asked.

" _Yes_ ," Harry and I said at the same time.

"Very well, then. Can the two of you please wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her course schedule," McGonagall said. I stood up finally with Harry and the two of us made our way outside. Madame Pomfrey followed and shut the door. She gave us one last disapproving look before making her way back to the hospital wing muttering to herself.


	7. And so it Begins

**Heyo! Guess who finally got a new, working laptop? This girl! Wooooo! So here is the next chapter, finally the start of the new year at Hogwarts. I'm trying to integrate Emma's housemates into the story more and more because as I have been writing them, I've found that I really like them. So Emma will switch between hanging out with her housemates, the golden trio, and also now Tessa and Callie. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Chapter 7- And so it Begins**

"We've missed the sorting!" Hermione said softly as we walked into the great hall. I looked around the hall and noticed all of the first years sitting at different house tables. Harry, Hermione, and I made our way to the Gryffindor table as quietly as we could and took our seats next to Ron and Ginny. I looked up and down the table to see if I could find Callie, but she wasn't there.

Ginny caught me looking and said, "She got sorted into Ravenclaw with Tessa. The two of them are sitting together. Callie said she's going to come see you later. But what was that all about?"

I started to explain in a low voice about just how annoying and overprotective all the teachers at Hogwarts were, but Dumbledore stood up and the entire hall fell into a hushed silence.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore said, beaming down at us all. Albus Dumbledore was one of those people who just radiated calmness. He made everyone feel at peace, no matter the circumstances. I took a deep breath and allowed that calmness to wash over me for the first time since the dream and dementor attack on the train. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you all become befuddled by our excellent feast." Muttering broke out in the hall. With one stern glance from Dumbledore, the hall fell silent again. "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express," he continued, "our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business." There were once again mutters through the entire hall, but this time one thing could be heard over and over; _Sirius Black_. Dumbledore cleared his throat, once again causing the entire hall to fall silent. "They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises- or even Invisibility cloaks." Dumbledore said the last part blandly, but it seemed as if he glanced towards our section of the table. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and I exchanged looks as discreetly as we could. And if you know anything about the six of us, the glances were probably the least discrete looks ever.

"It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors. On a happier note," Dumbledore continued, as he looked around at the silent hall, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." There were some scattered and pretty unenthusiastic applause around the hall. No one knew who he was, so no one clapped to loudly, other than those in the compartment. Next to every other teacher, Professor Lupin looked homeless, what with his shabby robes and scruffy look.

"Look at Snape!" Ron hissed to our little group. The five of us looked up towards the large teacher's table and found the potions master, Snape, glaring daggers at Lupin.

"He looks like he wants to kill him," Ginny said, sounding nervous.

"He always looks like that," I replied, glaring at the professor. I had never particularly _liked_ Snape. He seemed to despise Harry more than me, but took any chance he had to make some nasty or snide comment about my family. The look he was giving Lupin right now was the one that was specially reserved for anyone with the last name _Potter_.

"Our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued after the scattered applause died down, "is one that I have to unfortunately inform you will be replacing one of our beloved staff. Professor Kettleburn, our wonderful Care of Magical Creatures professor, has retired, deciding he wanted to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. But I am happy to inform you that our very own Rubeus Hagrid will be taking his place." This statement was followed by tremendous applause. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked stunned but pleased. Ginny and I had never been very close with Hagrid, but we clapped nonetheless, knowing how close he was to our siblings. Hagrid grin spread his entire face, lighting it up like a christmas tree.

"We should've known!" Ron yelled over the applause. "Who else would have assigned us a biting book?"

The clapping started to die down, ending when Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to stop, and Dumbledore started to speak again. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hagrid wiping his eyes on a large handkerchief.

"Well that's everything of importance," Dumbledore said, also grinning. "Let the feast begin!"  
The start of year feast was just as amazing as it was last year. I piled my plate high with everything that looked good and started to eat, going between the second year conversations on my left and the third year ones on my right.

"How was your summer?" Jake Lowy asked the group of 7 Gryffindor second years. I was always friendly with my house mates, but I wasn't as close with them as I was with Astoria, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. I guess almost dieing brings you closer together.

"Denis spent the _whole_ summer asking about Hogwarts," Colin Creevey said. He had calmed down significantly with his obsession of Harry and I over the summer. "He's my little brother and entered his first year this year," Colin explained to me since I missed the sorting. "When he got his letter, he was so excited that he almost passed out."

"I didn't do much," Alex Simmons said. His sandy blond hair almost matched that of Seamus Finnigan, one of Harry's friends. "I pretty much just hung out at the beach." Alex was from Australia, but his mother was from England, so she wanted him to go to Hogwarts instead of one of the schools for wizards in Australia.

"I spent my time at camp," I said, twiddling my wand. None of them but Ginny knew exactly what I did at my camp, but they all knew I spent my summers in America.

"Lisa came home for the summer," Anthony White said. He had an older sister who had graduated last year from Hogwarts. "She started a career in wandlore and got an apartment in Brighton, but it's under construction so she came home."

"I visited Bill in Egypt," Ginny said.

"I heard about that!" Michael Grace said. "You're family won that galleon thing at the ministry, right?"

"How do you know that?" Anthony asked while Alex muttered _nerd_ under his breath. Michael didn't seem to mind the name, for good reason. He was one of the top in our year

"It was in the prophet," Michael said, rolling his eyes. "Not like any of you lot read that."

"Oi," I said. "Not true."

"Did you just say 'oi'?" Ginny said, laughing. "Wow. We're rubbing off on you."

"That's what happens when I'm forced to spend 10 of my 12 months in a year with you lot," I said, following Michael and rolling my eyes.

"I can't believe we're second years," Alex said, always the sentimental one.

"We were never that small, were we?" Colin asked.

"Colin, you're still that small," Anthony said with a smirk. And he wasn't wrong. Colin was easily the smallest of us all, probably not even five foot yet.

Suddenly, the golden plates and cups changed from holding dozens of different foods to holding dozens of different desserts. The first year's down the table all let out small gasps. Their eyes were easily the size of the plates on the table. I couldn't help but laugh, happy to finally be back at Hogwarts.

"Just a few more announcements before I let you all leave!" Dumbledore said, having the entire hall go quiet again. "First off, the forbidden forest is, as the name implies, forbidden. I really don't see what part of that you all don't understand" He glanced over to where Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and I were sitting and the five of us sent each other amused glances. It was common knowledge among the teachers (and some students) that the five of us had an… adventure… in the forbidden forest earlier this year. "Mr. Filch wants me to remind you that no magic is allowed in the corridors, along with multiple items from Zonko's joke shop. For the complete list, please see Mr. Filch's office. With that," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, "I invite you all to go to bed. You have a long day of classes tomorrow."

Groaning and grumbling, everyone started to get up made their way towards the entrance hall.

"We're going to congratulate Hagrid," Harry said. "Wanna come?"

"I'm heading up to bed," I replied. Ginny said the same so we bid the three of them goodnight and followed the rest of the flow of students up to Gryffindor Tower.

"Password?" The fat lady said, wearing a pink dress and looking annoyed at the herd of students.

"Coming through!" Percy Weasley called. "Coming through! The password is Fortuna Major!"

Ginny and I, being the only two female Gryffindor second years, had a dormitory all to ourselves. We both took our usual beds and collapsed without a word.

O

Deciding to try and keep training over the school year, I dragged myself out of bed earlier than I ever wanted to get up and changed into an old camp t-shirt and shorts.

"What are you doing, Em?" Ginny mumbled in her sleep.

"Running," I replied, all too cheerful. "Wanna come?"

In response, I got a pillow chucked at my face. What else is new? I rolled my eyes, chucked the pillow back, then made my way to the lake.

Running was one of the more relaxing things I got to do with my life. The steady sounds of my feet hitting the ground and the wind rushing past kept me calm. Lizzy refers to it as a 'runner's high', when someone runs to the point where nothing matters. She also says I'm crazy for liking running, but I get that a lot.

I smiled at the thought of Lizzy. She had been one of the only people who had talked to me when I got back to camp. Being claimed as a daughter of Zeus had its perks, but because there hadn't been a child of the big three in decades, people tended to be slightly wary towards me. It took them probably till mid July to open back up. Then there was the issue of being a wizard. Only the other head counselors knew but everyone who was a year rounder knew that something was up when I had left camp, seeing as I always was there.

Then there was the issue of Ouranos. Chiron still refused to do anything about it, as did, apparently, all of the gods. Olympus had practically shut down. Chiron used to take some of the senior campers and some of the head counselors to Olympus for the large meetings together, but lately Chiron told us we couldn't go.

Camp was restless. Everyone knew what was going on, but everyone was forbade from talking about it. Even the younger campers, while they may not have understood, knew something was going on. All the older campers wanted to go out and do something, but Chiron would actually murder us if we did.

I was jerked out of my thoughts by a head of brown hair popping into view. I jerked out of my sprint I was currently in so fast that I nearly fell over. My vision went white and I bent over, feeling nauseous. I started to walk, taking heavy breaths,until my vision cleared and my headache ceased. I straightened and turned back towards the tree where the brown haired girl was standing. She let out a small squeak when she caught my eye contact and sprinted back towards the castle. Utterly confused, I followed but made my way towards Gryffindor tower instead of wherever she went.

"How was the run?" Ginny said when I went back into our dorm.

"Fine," I replied. "There was some weird girl watching me, though."

"Like a stalker?" Ginny asked. "Do you know who it was?"

"Probably a first year," I said, taking my wand and running it over my body in a spell I had read about to make it seem like I just showered. It didn't work forever, but it was great for if I needed to get out quickly. "She seemed tiny and scared."

"Probably a first year, then," Ginny agreed. "Do you remember her name?"

"Nah," I said. "Remember, I missed the sorting. Poppy and Minnie were being overprotective again."

"Minnie?" Ginny said, laughing.

"Well 'Minerva' sounds to formal," I said, grabbing my bag after having changed.

"I dare you to call her that to her face," Ginny said, following me out of the dorm.

"And risk a detention?" I asked. "On second thought, I might take you up on that bet."

"I'd love to see that, Potter," Ginny said with a playful shove.

"Potter?" I asked.

"Emma seemed to formal for the circumstances," Ginny said with a laugh.

The two of us bickered back and forth until we finally reached the great hall.

"Emma! Ginny!" Colin gestured us over towards where the other second years were all sitting. Ginny and I walked over and took two of the vacant seats next to each other.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Did you hear the news?" Alex said excitedly. "We're getting an exchange student in second year."

"Please, please, please, please, please say it's a girl," Ginny said excitedly. "We need another girl. In case you haven't noticed, Emma and I are slightly outnumbered."

"How do you know they'll be in Gryffindor?" Colin said.

"And what? You're upset that you have to put up with our dashing good looks," Anthony said, flipping his brown hair.

"No, more that I have to put up with your arrogance," I said.

"Like you're one to talk," Ginny muttered. "You're the definition of arrogance."

"Have you met Anthony?" Jake asked.

"They can share the spot," Colin replied, laughing.

"Alright, are you all here?" McGonagall asked.

"All second years?" Michael asked. "I think so. There's only seven of us."

"Yes, our smallest year currently," McGonagall said. "With some of our biggest problems." She glanced briefly at Ginny and I. The five boys, being the childish idiots they were, in unison started to 'ooh'. Ginny rolled her eyes while I attempted to slap each boy. McGonagall pretended she didn't see any part of the exchange.

"Here are the schedules," McGonagall said, tapping seven pieces of parchment and passing them out.

I groaned when I saw mine. "Remind me again why I decided to take runes," I moaned.

Ginny took my schedule out of my hands and started to laugh.

"What's up?" Michael asked.

"Emma doesn't have any free blocks other than on Monday and Friday," Ginny said laughing. I groaned some more and put my head in my legs.

"We gotta go," Anthony said. "We can't be late for our first class."

"History can always wait," Colin said.

I jumped up and checked my schedule. "We have history first! I love history! Let's go."

O

"Good morning class," Professor Binns said, sounding as bored as ever. "Welcome back to History of Magic. I hope you all had a good summer, but now we are back for another year. So let's get down to work.

"This year we are first going to cover the series of Goblin Rebellions. These rebellions occurred within the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, happening a few at a time and becoming a large part of the Wizarding world between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Many theories have been developed as to why these rebellions occurred. Representatives from the ministry have long denied the rights of many goblins, including the lack of representatives on the Wizengamot, the ban of using wands, attempts to enslave goblins as houselves, wizards attempt to control Gringotts, and the murdering of many goblins by Yardley Platt.

"Platt was thoroughly charged for his crimes in front of the Wizengamot, but the goblins didn't find this sufficient. They goblins allied themselves with the werewolves and successfully got rid of many ministers including Albert Boot, Basil Flack, and Hephaestus Gore."

"How do you pay attention to this?" Ginny asked while she doodled on her notes with my pens. I didn't like using quills, seeing as they're old fashioned and time consuming. Ginny had taken a liking to the multicolored writing implements and was known to take them out of my bag.

"How do you not?" I asked, scribbling down some more notes. We had this class with the Hufflepuffs, all who also seemed to be zoning out.

"Nerd," I heard Alex muttered from behind me where he was sitting with Anthony. I responded by chucking one of my eraser caps at him.

"What in Merlin's name is this used for?" Alex asked, amazed.I made a mental not to introduce them all to a pencil later.

"Yes, Mr. Lory?" came Binns's bored voice.

"I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the new student coming to Hogwarts, Professor," came Jake's voice.

"That is not History, Mr. Lory," Binns said.

"Well technically it's current History," Michael argued.

"Mr. Green, it has yet to happen so it isn't current History," Binns said, getting yet another name wrong.

"Can't you tell us _anything_ professor?" Lila Jones, a Hufflepuff girl, said.

All ears were now on Binns, and it was obvious the professor wasn't used to having a class listen to him. He seemed slightly overwhelmed, and looked around.

"Oh alright," Binns sighed, placing his notes onto his desk. "All I know is that an American School called Glinslow's Academy for the gifted is sending one of their students to Hogwarts for at least this year. I don't know his name, I just know that he will be coming in mid october and will be sorted at the Halloween feast. He will also be entering his second year." I could hear Ginny groan at the words 'he'. If the new kid was in Gryffindor, Ginny and I would still be the _only_ girls.

"Now that we are done with that," Binns said, his voice drawling. "Let us get back to the topic at hand, shall we?"


	8. Fighting and Flying

**Heyo! So I normally don't do this, but my friend just started an account and posted a story called Fire meets Flame. Its a Harry Potter fanfiction under the account OverlyCaffinatedHighschooler. It would be really really great if you guys could check it out.**

 **On a different, less promotional note, I don't really like this chapter that much. I love to write quidditch scenes but I hated the way this tryout scene was written. So please, if you have any suggestions on how I could make it better, let me know so I can work on it for the next time.**

 **Finally, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. I've been writing this story on fast forward for the past few days ever since my writers block went away so I'm really excited for the way this is going to turn out. Enjoy guys!**

 **Chapter 8- Fighting and Flying**

Transfiguration next block went by as slow as it could ever have. I sat there for the first time half listening half counting the minutes until I got to go to Ancient Runes. McGonagall lectured us on how we need to be prepared for this year and how it won't be 'a breeze' like last year.

"If she thought last year was a breeze then I'm doomed," moaned Alex. "I nearly failed that class."

"Does anyone do well in Minny's class?" I asked.

"Don't you start miss eidetic and photographic memory," Ginny said. "I saw your exam results. You got a hundred on all of them."

All of the boys gaped at me. "How in Merlin's name did you do so well?" Colin asked.

"Eidetic and photographic memory," I said. They all looked at me blankly. "Wow, we really don't ever hang around you guys do we?"

"You prefer to try and find trouble," Jake said.

"Is that our new name for Harry, Ron, and Hermione?" Michael asked.

"What's an eidetic and photographic memory?" Anthony asked.

"Ever so single minded," I said. "And it means that anything I read or hear or see, I memorize instantly. Sort of helpful."

"All the time?" Michael asked, awed.

"Most of the time," I reasoned. "If I'm really tired or if I try to study for too long, my memory gets a bit shaky. But I still am able to memorize things faster."

"Lucky," Alex muttered.

"What class do we have now?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Potions," Ginny groaned. "I hate potions."

"It's not _so_ bad," I said. "It's really just Snape."

"He's a real-" Jake said a word that made all of us snicker except for Ginny who yelled "Jake!"

"I mean, he's not wrong," Anthony said. "We all know it."

"But there is one good thing that comes out of Potions," Ginny said.

"You sure about that?" Colin said, grimacing as we made our way towards the dungeons.

"There is," Ginny said. "And there she is."

We rounded the corner and Astoria sprinted towards where we were.

"Thank God you guys showed up," Astoria said. "I've been stuck with _them_ for the past five minutes." She gestured over to where Amelia Admin, Mason Carrow, Liam Hanson, Sammy Nott, Kelly Rosier, and Max Yaxley were standing. They were the other Slytherin second years. They also were the people who decided that Astoria wasn't 'fit' to be in their house last year since she was friends with Gryffindors. I held a personal grudge against them.

"Don't worry. You're saviors are here," I said as we walked into the classroom. The tables were set up (luckily) in groups of threes and twos so Astoria, Ginny, and I partnered up in one of the tables in the back.

"Instructions are on the board," Snape drawled from the front of the classroom, not even bothering with a greeting. "You have one hour. Begin."

I looked up to the front board and grimaced. One thing I hadn't missed over the summer was the constant reminder of my Dyslexia. I had found a spell to change the language of all of my textbooks to Greek and one to translate my essays to English, but Potions was especially hard when we had directions on the board.

"What Potion?" I asked, flipping around in my book to see if there was a recipe in there.

"Swelling Solution," Ginny replied. "I don't think it's in the book." I searched around but couldn't find it.

"It's alright," Astoria said. "You're better at Potions than either of us anyways. We'll read it out, you do it."

I nodded, annoyed that I had to take a handicap but happy that my friends were there. Astoria and Ginny started to read off directions in a whisper while I crushed, stirred, and added ingredients.

"Potter," came Snape's annoyed drawl from in front of me. I looked up to see the greasy man himself. "Can you _read_?"

"Of course I can, _professor_ ," I said, giving the last word all the sarcasm I could muster.

"Then pray tell me why you need Ms. Greengrass and Ms. Weasley to mutter directions to you?" Snape said, sneering.

"It's called Dyslexia," I said. "Maybe if _you_ read then you would know what that means."

Snape scowled. "Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter. And I want all of you," he said addressing the class, "to finish this potions _silently_."

Snape sauntered back up to the front of the classroom and sat back down at his desk, turning back to grading papers.

I turned towards the blackboard, silently fuming. How unfair was this? I literally _can't_ read English without problems. I took a deep breath, refraining myself from killing Snape and pulled out my wand and a piece of parchment.

"Exemplumly," I muttered under my breath and watched as the words from the chalkboard copied themselves onto the piece of parchment in neat letters. "Graecan Lingurms." The writing translated itself to Greek. I smiled slightly at my handy work.

"How did you do that?" Ginny whispered to me.

"I had to figure out something that translated languages," I murmured back.

"Potter. Weasley. What part of silence did you not get?"Snape sneered. "Ten more points and next time, it's a detention."

Potions couldn't have gone any slower. When we finally finished our potion, it was near perfect, much to Snape's dismay. A potion like that would have at least gotten us ten points with any reasonable teacher. Instead, Snape dismissed us with a foot long essay.

"At least we have a break next block," Alex said as we made it to lunch and bade Astoria goodbye.

"You do," I said, slightly annoyed but very excited. "I have runes."

"Emma! Ginny!" Hermione called from down the table. Ginny and I turned and found my brother and our friends sitting together. They waved us over.

"Go on," Anthony said, rolling his eyes. "I see we're not important enough."

"Shove off, Anthony," Alex said.

"Yeah we spent the whole day with them. There's only so much of this," Jake said, gesturing to himself and the rest of the boys, "that girls can handle."

Ginny and I both made a point of rolling our eyes at them before making our way towards where Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting. Ron looked stricken, as if he had just seen a ghost.

"What happened," I asked, sitting down.

"Harry saw the grim," Ron whispered. Hermione rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"The grin?" I asked, confused.

"Grim," Ron corrected. Ginny gasped.

"That's that big black dog thing," I said, "right?"

"Do you just know everything?" Ron asked.

"I read it," I defended. "It was in a book I got from Florish and Blotts over the summer. Anyways, I thought that all was fake?"

"My Uncle Bilius saw a grim," Ginny muttered as Ron nodded on. "He died twenty four hours later."

Hermione rolled her eyes again. "It's a fake!" she exclaimed. "Trelawny is a complete fake."

"On a different note, are you excited for runes, Hermione?" I asked. "It's-" Hermione, who was sitting on the edge of our group gave me a warning look over the other three's head.

I must have looked confused, because Ginny asked, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," I said. "Just- just thinking." Hermione looked relieved

"I am excited for Runes, Emma," Hermione said, acting like nothing happened. "If it's anything like Arithmancy, it'll be great. Speaking of which, we better get going!"

"To where?" Harry asked.

"Library!" Hermione replied on instinct. "Want to get some research done before class starts." I grabbed my bag, following Hermione's lead, and started out the hall.

"Wait!" Ron called as Hermione opened the door of the great hall. "But you haven't had Arithmancy!" The door of the hall boomed closed behind us.

"What was that about?" I asked Hermione.

She reached under her shirt and pulled out a golden chain. "It's a time turner," Hermione explained. "You mustn't tell anyone! It's supposed to be a secret."

"Isn't that a thing that let's you go back in time," I said, awed. "How'd you get your hands on that?"

"McGonagall got it for me," Hermione explained. "I couldn't fit all my classes into my schedule, so I have multiple at a time. Right now, I'm supposed to be in Care of Magical Creatures and Runes, so I am."

"That's so cool!" I said. "Must be really helpful when you have to have more time to study."

"It is," Hermione agreed. We had made it to the Ancient Runes classroom. "Promise not to tell anyone?"

"I promise," I said. "I mean, you've kept my secret this long. Why shouldn't I keep yours?"

"Oh thank you, Emma!" Hermione squealed.

"Now let's get to class." The two of us walked into the classroom filled with Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and two Hufflepuffs. Surprisingly there were no Slytherins. I got a couple of weird looks, but no one said anything. I sat at a table with Hermione and brought out my books and quills.

"Good morning class!" Professor Babbling said, walking into the room. "Welcome to Study of Ancient Runes. My name is Professor Babbling and I will be your professor.

"This class will not be like any other class you have taken. It will be rigorous and harder than anything you have taken at Hogwarts."  
A ravenclaw girl raised her hand. "Yes, Ms-" Babbling began.

"MacDougal, ma'am. Isobel MacDougal. I was wondering what a second year was doing in this class," Isobel said.

"Ah, very observant, Ms. MacDougal. Ms. Potter will be joining us this year for our class. She has sufficiently proved that her knowledge for the subject is passed that of our fourth years and so she will be taking this class a year early.

"Now back to the topic at hand," Babbling continued. "I expect you all to keep ahead of your work load at all times. Any incomplete homework will result in loss of house points. Up to three incomplete homeworks and you will receive a detention. Up to five, a week of detention, and so on.

"So on we go to the interesting part of the class!" Professor Babbling said. "Everyone, open up your books and read the section on Demiguise."

O

"How was your third year class?" Jake asked when I sat down in the common room with them after classes for the day.

"Amazing," I said. "Professor Babbling is a great professor. I'm really looking forward to her class. Speaking of," I said, pulling out my runes book, some parchment, and a quill, "I have an essay to write."

"C'mon, Emma," Jake complained. "It's _Friday_! Come play chess with us!"

"I have to read 200 pages of this by Monday, complete this essay, and do all of my other homework," I replied, "and it's only the first day of school. Plus, I have quidditch tryouts tomorrow so I have to get this all done tonight!"

"Or you could just do it Sunday like every normal person," Anthony replied.

"But then I'll get into the habit of pushing off my homework and I'll start doing it all the time. It's better to just get it done." I turned back to my essay and tried to get back into it, but the noise of the common room had risen to a high and I couldn't focus anymore. I turned towards my small group of friends and found them all sitting together in a circle.

"I think he'll be a Ravenclaw," Colin stated, popping a bertie botts every flavored bean into his mouth.

"No way," Alex said. "Ten galleons that he'll be in Hufflepuff."

"Who are we talking about?" I asked, pulling my chair past a group of scared looking first years and over to their group.

"That new kid," Alex replied. "The one who'll be in Hufflepuff."

"I think Gryffindor," I announced. "Definitely Gryffindor."

This caused an entire argument over who was right. As the common room began to empty as more and more people went to bed, our group dispersed to our separate common room.

O

"Quidditch tryouts!" Oliver wood shouted out, standing in the middle of the quidditch field.

It was probably about 7 am Saturday morning and literally everyone here to try out looked half asleep. Including the entire team. The morning fog had settled over the field, causing awful conditions for quidditch.

"All of you are either here to try out for the reserve squad," Wood said, looking towards one half asleep group on the right side of the field, "or for our vacant chaser spot." He looked towards the opposite group, also half asleep, but this time containing me. "Either way, some of you are not going to make it through this, but my decision is final. No 'callbacks', no retries, and absolutely no whining. Am I clear?"  
All of us nodded our heads, except for the ones who looked actually asleep. Wood proceeded to dismiss these people, claiming that if they were still half asleep, they didn't have the dedication it took to play. He then ordered us all to run laps around the field.

All that early morning running and running from monsters really paid off. I finished first, minutes before the others. As soon as everyone was done, Wood barked at us to get in the air and _fly_ laps this time.

By the end of tryouts, I was sore, tired, and greatly in need of food, but Wood still made us stand around while he gave out results.

"Alright everyone, great flying today," he said, once again all business. There were give or take ten of us left and only eight spots, seven reserved and one chaser. "I am pleased to announce our reserve chasers to Killian, James, and Tegan." Three boys who I recognized as fifth years all grinned and went to sit on the stands. I deflated a bit more, seeing that my chances were beginning to deter. "Peterson, welcome to the reserve team as our keeper," a fourth year girl grinned like a maniac. "Kyles, seeker," a sixth year girl smiled, "and Gregory twins, beaters. That leaves us with Potter as our new team chaser."

I felt my heart drop so fast that I almost collapsed. Instead, my face split into a wide smile.

"Alright, everyone who made the team I'll let you know when practices start. Now go get some breakfast."

O

"I can't believe you made the team!" Anthony cried when I sat down at breakfast.

"Try outs literally just ended," I exclaimed.

"Word travels fast," Michael said, a book on his lap.

"She was amazing," Ginny said, taking a seat next to me. "I don't know how she does it."

"You make it sound like I was some sort of magician," I said, taking a bite of toast.

"You should have seen her running," Ginny continued, ignoring me. "They probably ran like two miles and Emma did it in close to 9 minutes."

"Well doesn't she run in the mornings?" Colin asked, coming to take a seat with us. "I heard you made the team, Emma. Congrats."

"How do you know that?" I asked incredulously. "And thanks Colin."

"You're not as quiet as you think you are, Em," Anthony answered.

"At least you don't have to sleep in the same room as her," Ginny grumbled.

"Will all of you just shut up and let me enjoy my Saturday morning in peace," I groaned.

"There's my amazing sister," Harry said, coming up behind me and slinging his arms around my neck. "Little sister's friends," Harry acknowledged the kids around me.

"Why are you so happy?" I asked, leaning back and looking up at my brother.

"Can't I just be happy that my sister made the quidditch team?" Harry asked.

"Well you can, and you were," I said, "for twenty minutes after tryouts, when we walked up together and you wouldn't stop talking. Your happy. You're never this happy. _Why_ are you so happy?"

"We just realized we have Lupin again on Monday," Ron said coming up next to Harry. "He loves having Lupin."

"He's a bit old for you, don't you think?" I said, and Harry let go of me and slapped me across the head.

"You're inappropriate, you know that? Inappropriate 12 year old."

"Oh go have breakfast," I said, pushing him farther down the table. Ron and Harry left, and Hermione followed after stopping to talk with Ginny and I.

"Wonderful brother you got there," Anthony said, shoveling more fruit onto his plate.

"Isn't he though," I said, chuckling.

"He's just proud of you, Em," Michael said, not glancing up from his book.

"Morning Air head," came a voice from behind me. I turned and found a head of black hair in front of me.

"Death face," I said, shoving Callie lightly.

"She speaks!" Callie joked. Ginny moved over slightly to give Cal a place to sit.

"What d'you mean?" I said.

"When has the last time you talked to me been?" Callie whined, stealing food off my plate.

"You sound so needy," I teased. "Oh by the way, Callie, this is Jake, Michel, Alex, Anthony, and Colin. Cretans, this is Callie."

"I am not needy," Callie scoffed. "And hello cretans."

"And that's our cue to leave," Jake said, dragging the other four out of the great hall.

"So what's up?" I asked, turning to Callie.

"You run in the mornings, right?" Callie said, popping a grape into her mouth.

"Yeah, why?"

"I want to run with you," Callie said. "I never really got around to real training, but I want to train."

"Alright," I said, taking a breath. "Than I guess I'll see you at four tomorrow morning."

Callie spluttered. "Four- as in f-f-four am?"

"Well you wanted to train," I said, patting her back. "So see you then."


	9. Cats and Catastrophes

**Hello! Sorry that this is a day late. There was a family emergency that happened yesterday but everything's good now, and I'm back! So here's the next chapter that I had a lot of fun writing. I really like the idea of Lupin playing a roll in Emma's life. So he's in this chapter as is a bit of quidditch fun. I really hope you guys enjoy. Also make sure you review on this because it really is a big help!**

 **Chapter 9- Cats and Catastrophes**

The weeks of September flew in a blur, between keeping on the work load of classes, training with Callie, and early morning quidditch. Wood had decided that it was the year that we were going to win the house cup.

He told us so one Thursday evening, the first meeting as a full team. A quidditch team was composed of three chasers, two beaters, a keeper, and a seeker, making a total of seven players. All of us were seated in the locker room full of hot and stuffy equipment. It almost reminded me of the training rooms at camp.

"This is our last chance- _my_ last chance- to win the Quidditch cup," Wood said, striding the lengths of the room. "I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it.

"Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the worl- injuries- then the tournament got called off last year…" Wood paused and Harry and I glanced at each other. The tournament had gotten canceled last year after yet another person got attacked by the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. "But," Wood continued, a manic glint in his eyes, "we also know we've got the _best_ \- _ruddy_ \- _team_ \- _in_ \- _the_ \- _school_.

"We've got three _superb_ Chasers."

Wood gestured to where I was sitting with Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, two girls who I befriended at the beginning of last year.

"We've got two _unbeatable_ Beaters."

"Stop it, Oliver," Fred and George began in unison pretending to blush, "you're embarrassing us."

"And we've got a Seeker who has _never failed to win us a match_!" Wood said, his voice carrying a sort of furious pride. "And me," he said, almost as though he was an afterthought.

"We think you're very good, Oliver," George said.

"Spanking good Keeper," Fred added, grinning.

"The point is," Wood continued, going back to his pacing, "the Quidditch cup should have had our name on it these past two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't gotten it. But this year is _our year_! We have both Potters, we have the Weasleys, we have the two 'A's, and we will have the cup!"

"This is our year, Oliver," Alicia said.

"We'll do it!" Angelina added.

"Definitely," Harry and I added at the same time. The team laughed.

"Is that a sibling thing, then?" Wood asked.

"Yes," the Weasley twins intoned.

Filled with a determination only a team activity could bring, we started training three evenings a week. The weather was starting to get colder and wetter, the nights darker, but no amount of mid, wind, or rain could tarnish Wood's wonderful vision of finally winning the Quidditch cup. It reminded me strangely of capture the flag back at camp. But fewer swords. And blood. And a worse award.

The team was getting increasingly more and more irritable after more and more cold, tiring practices.

After one particularly awful practice, Harry and I were trudging back to the common room with Fred and George trailing behind us when we found the common room buzzing with anticipation.

"Everything alright?" I asked Ron and Hermione, coming up to them with Harry.

"First Hogsmeade weekend," Ron said, looking excited. "End of October. Halloween."

"Excellent!" Fred said while he and George grinned like lunatics. "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of stink pellets."

Harry threw himself down in a chair next to me looking exhausted. I followed suit and then Fred and George were next to us.

"Quidditch?" Hermione asked, sitting in an arm chair.

"Wood's working us like a mile a minute," I said, grimacing while I stretched out a sore muscle. Training with swords required way different muscles than training in the air did. Now instead of just part of me hurting, all of me was hurting.

"I don't think I'll ever be dry again," George agreed.

"Oh stop your whining," Wood said, coming over to look at the board. "It's not that bad."

"Shut it, Oliver," Angelina said, pushing George over and squeezing herself onto the couch. Alicia did the same, causing the couch to become increasingly uncomfortable.

"Am I missing the party?" Ginny asked, walking over and joining Hermione.

"I'm sore," came Harry's response, muffled by the pillow he was pushed into.

"Well you don't look all that comfortable either," Ginny pointed out. "All six of you decided it would be a good idea to squeeze on the couch?"

"No," I replied, my face pushed into Alicia's shoulder.

"Team bonding!" came Wood's cheerful answer as he took a seat on the couch's arm.

"And down goes that idea," Fred said, standing and all of us went tumbling.

"Fred!" Angelina and Alicia cried as the former fell onto the latter. Harry and I ended up sprawled on the floor with George.

"Stop injuring my team, Weasley!" Wood called from his spot still perched on the arm.

"OI!" Ron screamed, yanking his bag, that still had an attached Crookshanks hanging off of it, up into the air. "GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

"Ron, don't hurt him!" Hermione squealed as Ron swung the bag around. The whole common room had stopped what they were doing to turn and watch. Ron whirled the bag around again, and Scabbers came flying out.

"CATCH THAT CAT!" Ron cried as Crookshanks began to sprint after the terrified scabbers. Fred, the only standing member of our little group, made a lunge for Crookshanks but missed by a mile. Scabbers continued to run through legs before he shot beneath an old chest of drawers.

Crookshanks made furious swipes with his paws, trying to reach the trembling rat.

Ron and Hermione rushed over to where the cat and mouse chase was going on. Hermione grabbed Crookshanks and began to stroke his back before taking him away. Ron went flat on his stomach and after great struggling, managed to pull Scabbers out by the tail.

"Look at him!" Ron cried. "He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!"  
"Ron," Ginny said calmly. "He's a cat, and cat's. Chase. Rats."

"There's something funny about that animal!" Ron insisted, his face turning as red as his hair. "It heard me saying that Scabbers was in my bag."

"Oh what rubbish," Hermione said, speaking for the first time. "Crookshanks can smell him, Ron. How else do you think-"

"That cat's got it in for Scabbers," Ron cried. "And scabbers was here first. _And_ he's ill!"

Ron marched through the common room and up the stairs, people chortling at him the entire way.

"I think he's completely lost it," George prophesied.

"I think we've decided that a while ago," Ginny agreed.

"You alright, 'Mione?" I muttered to the silent girl. Hermione didn't reply but instead opted to maker her way up the stairs and into her dorm.

"Well this should be fun," Harry muttered, crashing back onto the couch that Wood, Angelina, and Alicia had recently vacated.

"Do they do this often?" Fred asked, taking a seat of his own.

"Well they always are arguing," I replied.

"Why don't they just kiss already?" George asked, lounging back and laughing at all of our stunned faces.

O

That morning at breakfast, Ron and Hermione sat on opposite side of our little group, Ron throwing daggers at Hermione and Hermione sending tentative glances when Ron wasn't working. Breakfast was so tense that it was almost a relief when Ginny and I bade them farewell and went to Defense.

For the first time in my entire Hogwarts career, I couldn't focus during class. I went through Defense, Herbology, and Runes memorizing the information but not hearing it. By the end of class, I was starving and half asleep.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked while we walked to the common room.

"I'm fine," I replied, taking a breath. "Or maybe I'm not," I said as my vision started to dance with white, than go completely black.

Now if there was one thing I will never in my life stop hating, it's demigod dreams. Or demigod blackouts, I guess.

 _My vision started to regain color, but it felt like I was looking at things from above. Below me was a large room with a large throne like chair in the center. Seated in it was a shadowy figure, cloaked in darkness. A door swung open, revealing Kyle, his black hair as dark as the shadowy figure._

" _You called?" His voice was as smooth as I remembered._

" _Is that how you address me now?" the figured mused from the chair._

" _I'm sorry,_ master _," Kyle said, slight sarcasm in his voice._

" _You seem tense Mr. Gillian," came the figures response. "I take it you haven't talked to your girlfriend?"_

" _She's not my girlfriend," Kyle gritted out. "And… I'm getting to it. It's kind of hard to get to her while she's at school."_

" _We've discussed this," the figure said. Do it when the security is most lax. We need her on our side, and fast. Before she figures out-"_

 _The image cut out and shifted to one that I was familiar of. Halfblood hill came barreling into view and my vision stopped short on a huddle of figures._

" _How long?" came a voice I recognized. Lizzy, older than she was when I last saw her, was standing in full battle armor._

" _Four days," Sammy said, also in full armor._

" _And how's Emma," Lizzy said, a hint of fear creeping into her voice._

" _Still in capitated," Michaela answered._

" _I can't believe I'm saying this," Lizzy heaved, "but we need backup. We need more people. We_ need _Emma. Now. I need to get to London."_

 _My vision cut out again and switched to the grounds of Hogwarts. I flew over the forbidden forest and landed by the lake. Black, cloaked dementors flew over the lake and straight to the shore. I focused in on four of the figures huddled there, two passed out and two struggling to their feet. I saw myself, wand flashing, white smoke emitting from the tip. Harry was next to me, pale and shaking, just like I was. Crumpled on the ground were Hermione and a figure with matted black hair. His face was masked by the ground, obscuring his features. Dementors came swooping down, down, down, until… everything went black._

O

"Do you think she'll be alright?" came a voice that somewhere in my groggy mind I recognized.

"She just… collapsed."

"She looks so small."

I peeled open my eyes, fumbling around for my glasses.

"Here," came a voice, directly to the right of me. I reached towards them and put my glasses on my face. Multiple faces swam into view, all looking worriedly down at me.

"Are you alright, Emma?" Ginny said from my left. I turned and found her seated on a chair next to me.

"Y-yeah, of course," I answered. "What happened?"

"You sort of… collapsed," Ginny answered for me. I felt pressure on both of my hands and found both my brother and best friend squeezing them.

My stomach grumbled and suddenly I felt hunger and pain both hit me at the same time. The back of my head started to throb with an unrelenting pain.

"You missed dinner," Colin said, passing me an apple.

"Thanks, Colin," I said, taking a bit and finding my head throb more.

"I need all of you to leave," Madame Pomfrey said, bustling out. "She needs rest, and you are all way passed the maximum allowance anyway."

Grumbling and groaning, my friends left, leaving me with Ginny on one side and Harry on the other. Pomfrey came over and began to feel my head, take my pulse, and so on.

"You have a mild concussion. I can give you a few things for the pain, but no quidditch for three weeks and no classes for the rest of the week." Pomfrey continued to run tests while I sat there, dumbstruck.

"But- but it's Monday!" I argued. "That means four days out of classes."

"And you're lucky it isn't more," Pomfrey agreed. "Ms. Potter you have a concussion. And seeing as you have no ability to heal other than a muggle, you are going to rest for the next week or you will be out of classes much, much longer."

"Isn't there any way we can figure this healing thing out?" I asked, heaving a sigh.

"I have talked to your… camp director, and I would suggest magical meditation," Pomfrey replied. "At least an hour a day in quiet meditation attempting to make peace between both your magical and godly sides."  
"That makes no sense, though," I replied. "It's just, well, blood."

"The way I see it," Pomfrey began, "is like two forces. Your magical force which allows you to perform magic, and your godly force. They're like two strings that are currently intertwined and trying to cover the other. You need to separate them, allow them to work together instead of one being dominate."

"It sounds very… wishy washy," Ginny said. "Like… mystical."

"Oh so like how being a wizard or being half god sounds?" Pomfrey asked. "And didn't I say that _everyone_ needs to leave."

Harry and Ginny began to protest. Eventually, Pomfrey relented, allowing Harry to stay since he was family, but forcing a grumbling Ginny out.

O

I spent the week in the hospital wing in total boredom. I attempted to do the meditation thing that Pomfrey had suggested to no avail. Since classes were in session, I only got to see my friends before or after them. But, eventually, Madame Pomfrey released me back into the hustle and bustle of things with a pounding headache and a concerned older brother who refused to leave me be.

"I swear to you, Harry. I am alright!" I protested on Halloween morning.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, following me down to breakfast.

"I promise you that you can go to Hogsmeade and _not_ have to worry about me passing out in the middle of the halls. I mean, it's been two weeks, Harry!"

"And Pomfrey said you won't be completely ok until at least 3, probably four weeks," Harry replied, turning a corner a few paces behind me.

"I'll watch her," Ginny said as we sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"I'm not a two year old in need of a babysitter," I said, frustratedly.

"But you are like a two year old on the inside," Anthony said from farther down the table.

"Harry, I think Anthony is making my head hurt more," I said. "Maybe you should yell at him."

"Wouldn't that have the opposite effect?" Michael asked, a small smile tugging on his lips.

"Go to Hogsmeade," I said to Harry, standing up with a piece of toast clutched in my hand. "I, on the other hand, have a meeting with Professor Lupin. I will see you," I kissed the top of his head, "at the feast."

I walked out of the great hall, waving to Callie and Tessa when I passed them. Callie got up and joined me while I made my way through the halls.

"Where you off to, supergirl?" Callie asked.

"Lupin's," I answered. "I have a meeting with him. What have you been up to? How are classes?"

"Tough," Callie answered. "Binns is probably the worst."

"I don't understand why you all hate him," I groaned. "History is great."

"Yeah, sure Emma. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

I shot Callie a long glance. "Did Harry put you up to this?"

Callie turned red and looked down. "Emma rotecton sod," was the sounds that came out of her mouth.

"Again," I said, with an annoyed look.

"Emma protection squad," Callie said. "At least, that's what Tessa and I call it. Harry has us all watching you certain days of the past two weeks."

"I am going to _kill_ him." I went to turn back to the great hall before realizing that at this point, they were all probably at Hogsmeade. "I am going to kill him when I get back," I amended, making my way to Lupin's office, trying to shake off Callie.

"He's just worried about you!" Callie called after me, but I slipped through a couple of bodies and found myself in a corridor without Callie.

I silently cursed Harry and his over protectiveness. I get that he was just trying to help, but I've been through a lot worse than a few nightmares and blackouts.

"Emma! Emma wait up!"  
"Astoria I swear if you're here because of Harry, I will curse you into oblivion," I said to the blond girl behind me.

"Don't worry. It's Callie's day anyway. Mine's not until Monday," Toria answered, swinging her arm over my shoulder. "I'm just sick of being with Slytherins."

"Well I have a meeting with Lupin so I'm afraid I have to let you down," I told her, turning a corner and finding myself outside of the professor in questions door.

"I hate you," Astoria groaned.

"Go hang out in the Gryffindor common room with Ginny till I get back," I told the grumpy blond. She huffed and turned away, leaving me at Lupin's door.

I raised a hand to knock, but the door swung in before I had the chance. "Emma!" Professor Lupin said, a smile on his face. "Come on in."

"Thanks professor," I said, a smile playing on my lips.

"Would you like some tea?" Lupin asked over his shoulder. "I was just about to put a pot on."

"You don't happen to have coffee, do you?" I answered, taking a seat at the table in his office.

Lupin made a disgusted face. "You like coffee?"

"You like tea," I defended.

"Yes, but coffee?" I nodded. "Fine," Lupin replied. He bustled around for a few minutes before sitting at the table with a cup of tea and a cup of coffee. "Do you at least want milk and sugar?"

"Of course not," I said, grabbing the mug and taking a sip. "That ruins the taste completely." The professor shook his head disapprovingly.

"You know, sometimes I think you're exactly like your parents, but then you do things like this," Lupin said, sighing.

I nearly dropped the mug. "You-you knew my parents?"

"Yes," Lupin said, a hint of sadness coming to his eyes. "I knew Lily and practically lived with James and Kate on occasion. You look nearly identical to Kate with your red hair and grey eyes. And you have your Uncle's-Father's Mischief."

"You knew them well then," I said.

"James, Lily, and I were all in the same year and Kate was one below us," Lupin explained. "James and I were together a lot when we were teens."

"Professor," I said tentatively, "Do you… I was wondering if you knew about my true father-"

"Emma," Lupin said kindly, "I know. I know where you really go in the summer."

I nodded my head. "Do you know how I ended up in America?"

"You weren't supposed to," Lupin said, his eyes hardening. "You were never supposed to. Dumbledore chose where you went, but you're parents wanted you and Harry to go with your god parents. You were supposed to end up with me."

"You-You're my… godfather?" I asked incredulously.

"I am," Lupin answered.

"And you're just opting to tell me this now?" I said, feeling giddy. It felt nice, going from having no family to having a brother and a godfather all in less than two years.

"The, um, time hasn't been right," Lupin said, going red. "On a different note, I'm guessing you didn't come here to talk about your parents, Emma."

"Um, no I didn't," I said, shifting slightly on my feat. "I was wondering… you know that spell you used on the train-the one to ward away the dementors? I was wondering if you could, um, teach it to me?"

"That spell is very difficult," Lupin said thoughtfully. "Most of age wizards can't even produce the patronus charm. I'm not sure if it's the best idea."

"But that wasn't what I was asking," I told the professor. "I don't care if it's a good idea, I want to know if you will do it. The way those dementors affected me isn't something I'm keen on experiencing again."

"It's a difficult spell, Emma," Lupin repeated. "Very difficult."

"Professor, my life is the definition of difficult," I told him. "I'm willing to work towards this spell and do whatever it takes for me to learn this spell. Now, are you willing to teach it to me or not?"

Before Lupin could answer, there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in," Lupin said pleasantly. The door open, and in came Snape. I felt my mood immediately shift towards the worse. It seemed that Snape had similar feelings, as his black eyes narrowed to slits.

"Ah, Severus!" Lupin said, smiling. "Thanks very much. Could you leave it on the desk, please?" Snape's eyes narrowed even more at Lupin's cheerful tone. His slits passing off as eyes switched between Lupin and me.

"Emma and I were just having some tea," Lupin said kindly.

"Coffee," I supplied. "Tea is, quite plainly, rubbish." Lupin shook his head sadly at this statement.

"Fascinating," Snape said in his usual bored tone. "You should drink that directly, Lupin."

"Yes, yes I will," Lupin replied.

"I made an entire cauldron full in case you need more," Snape continued.

"Yes, I should probably take some more tomorrow," Lupin said pleasantly. "Thanks very much, Severus."

"Not at all," Snape said, his eyes flicking towards my face. He swiped his eyes up and down in an obvious look of distaste and… something else. I caught his glance and matched it with a glare of my own. We both stared at each other for a couple of seconds before Lupin cleared his throat politely and Snape left, unsmiling and watchful.

I glanced curiously at Lupin who smiled back.

"Proffessor Snape has kindly concocted a rather difficult potion for me. One that I couldn't dream of making for myself. I've never been much of a potioneer myself."

"I'm not much of one either," I replied. "I guess it does happen if you can't read the instructions on the board."

"Ah yes, I heard about that," Lupin said, swirling the goblet a bit.

"What's the potion for, Professor?"

"Well I've been feeling a bit off color lately. This potion is the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to have a potioneer like Snape around to help me out. Most people aren't up to making it."

"That's… nice," I said, slightly confused as to what potion it may be. Most of the time when we were feeling sick, Madame Pomfrey gave us a pepperup potion, which is fairly simple for any advanced potioneer.

Lupin took a small sip and shuddered slightly. "Pity sugar makes it useless."

"You can try supplements," I supplied. "Like… splenda or something."

"What's splenda?" Lupin asked.

"It's like- do you really not know what splenda is?" I said, shaking my head. Lupin took another sip from his goblet.

"And you like coffee. I guess we're both a bit strange."

"Oh you haven't even started to see strange," I sighed, leaning back in my seat and draining my coffee.


	10. Authors Note-Updates

**Hey guys! Sorry if you all thought this was going to be a chapter. Unfortunately my 3 week old new laptop decided to stop working about 3 weeks ago which is why I haven't updated in so long. I am currently writing this using my phone which I unfortunately cannot access my story from. So updates will be really spotty for the next few weeks until I get a laptop again! Sorry for the inconvenience to all of you and stay tuned for an update!**


End file.
